Top Goal Scorers For Australia Football Team All-Time: Australia has a long history of playing football, dating back to the late 1800s. The national team, known as the Socceroos, had some great strikers over the years.
The Socceroos represent Australia in football. They won the Asian Championship in 2015 and the Oceania Championship four times in 1980, 1996, 2000, and 2004.
They’ve also participated in the World Cup six times (1974, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, and 2022) and reached the final of the Confederations Cup in 1997, where they lost to Brazil. In 2005, Australia left the Oceania Football Association (OFC) to have better chances of qualifying for the World Cup. Now, they are part of the Asian Football Confederation (AFC).
Top Goal Scorers For Australia Football Team All-Time
In this article, we’ll talk about the top goal scorers in the history of the Australian football team.
1. Tim Cahill
- Career Span: 2004–2018
- Matches: 108
- Goals: 50
- Average: 0.46
Tim Cahill is the top goal scorer for the Australian football team. He made his Australian national team debut in 2004 in a match against South Africa. He played a significant role in Australia’s victories, including the 2004 Oceania Championship and the 2015 Asian Championship, where they won the title by defeating South Korea in the final.
In the 2006 World Cup, he scored two goals against Japan and played in all four games. He also participated in the 2010 World Cup and the 2014 World Cup, where he became Australia’s top goal scorer in World Cup history with five goals.
Cahill continued his international career and scored his 50th international goal in 2017, helping Australia qualify for the 2018 World Cup. After the tournament, at the age of 38 and as Australia’s all-time leading goal scorer, he retired from international football.
2. Damian Mori
- Career Span: 1992–2002
- Matches: 45
- Goals: 29
- Average: 0.64
Damian Mori is the second top goal scorer for the Australia football team. He made his first appearance for the national team on September 4, 1992, playing against the Solomon Islands. Over the next ten years, he represented Australia 45 times and scored 29 goals, which was a record at that time.
One of the highlights of his career was when Australia finished in second place at the 1997 Confederations Cup tournament in Saudi Arabia.
However, in November 2013, Tim Cahill surpassed Mori’s record by scoring his 29th international goal in a match against Costa Rica. Since March 5, 2014, Cahill has held the record as Australia’s all-time leading goal scorer after scoring two goals in a 3-4 win against Ecuador.
3. Archie Thompson
- Career Span: 2001–2013
- Matches: 54
- Goals: 28
- Average: 0.52
Archie Thompson is the third top goal scorer for the Australia football team. He made his international debut on February 28, 2001, against Colombia. He gained global recognition on April 11, 2001, when he scored an impressive 13 goals in a single match against American Samoa, helping Australia to a 31-0 victory in Coffs Harbor. This match set new records for goals scored at the national team level.
In his 54 international appearances, Thompson scored a total of 28 goals, placing him third among Australia’s leading goal-scorers. He was part of the Australian team that won the 2004 OFC Nations Cup and also participated in the 2005 Confederations Cup in Germany.
Thompson made history on December 7, 2012, when he scored the fastest recognized hat-trick in an official international match, doing so within five minutes during Australia’s 9-0 win against Guam in the 2013 East Asian Championship qualification. He scored in the 59th, 63rd, and 65th minutes of the game.
4. John Aloisi
- Career Span: 1993–2008
- Matches: 55
- Goals: 27
- Average: 0.49
John Aloisi is the fourth top goal scorer for the Australian football team. He played 55 international matches and scored 27 goals for the Australian national team. Aloisi made his debut against Macedonia in 1997.
He participated in three Confederations Cup tournaments with Australia in 1997, 2001, and 2005, reaching the final in 1997. Aloisi was also a part of the Australian squad at the 2006 World Cup and the 2007 Asian Cup.
5. John Kosmina
- Career Span: 1977–1988
- Matches: 60
- Goals: 25
- Average: 0.42
John Kosmina, the fifth top goal scorer for the Australia football team, came from a Polish family settled in Port Adelaide, a community deeply rooted in Polish heritage. His father, working in football, encouraged his passion for the sport.
In Australia, he became a prolific scorer in the National Soccer League, representing clubs like Adelaide City, West Adelaide (again), Sydney City, Sydney Olympic, and A.P.I.A. Leichhardt Tigers. His most successful stint was with Sydney City, winning championships in 1981 and 1982 and becoming the league’s top scorer in 1982.
Kosmina also captained the Australian national football team and played a crucial role in their victories at the Merlion Cup, a tournament he won twice. Notably, he scored the winning goal against CR Vasco da Gama during their tour in Australia in 1985, a moment he cherished as one of his best goals.
6. Attila Abonyi
- Career Span: 1967–1977
- Matches: 61
- Goals: 25
- Average: 0.41
Attila Abonyi is the sixth top goal scorer for the Australia football team. He made his debut in May 1967 against Scotland.
During a friendship tournament in Vietnam, he made a significant impact by scoring a hat-trick on his debut against New Zealand and another hat-trick in his second match against Singapore.
Abonyi was a key member of the Australian 1974 World Cup squad in West Germany. He represented both New South Wales and Victoria in his career. He made a total of 61 appearances for Australia and scored 25 goals.
