Frank Christian
In football, while goals are celebrated, the creation of scoring opportunities often hinges on contributions from teammates. At the international level, both goals and assists are significant achievements, with only a few players accumulating impressive numbers throughout their careers.
Tracking assists in international matches can be challenging due to inconsistent record-keeping, particularly in earlier decades. Nevertheless, The Sporting News has gathered the existing data to present the top assist providers in the history of international football, revealing some surprising names at the top.
Top Assist Providers in Men’s International Football
The record for most assists is held by American legend Landon Donovan, who tallied 58 assists in his international career, as reported by U.S. Soccer’s media guide. Donovan also tops the list in Major League Soccer assists and has an award named in his honor.
However, his record may soon be challenged. Argentine icon Lionel Messi matched Donovan’s total with his assist to Lautaro Martinez during a match against Peru on November 19, 2024. Brazilian superstar Neymar is also close behind, just needing one more assist to equal Donovan.
Both Messi and Neymar are on track to surpass Donovan’s record, making it seem likely that one of them will take the lead in the near future.
Assist statistics via Opta, with additional confirmation from national federations.
Last updated June 26, 2024
| Rank | Player | Nation | Assists | Caps |
| 1. | Landon Donovan | USA | 58 | 157 |
| = | Lionel Messi | Argentina | 58 | 190 |
| 3. | Neymar | Brazil | 57 | 126 |
| 4. | Ferenc Puskas* | Hungary | 53 | 85 |
| 5. | Sandor Kocsis* | Hungary | 50 | 68 |
| 6. | Kevin De Bruyne | Belgium | 49 | 107 |
| 7. | Pele* | Brazil | 47 | 92 |
| = | Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 48 | 215 |
| 9. | Mesut Ozil | Germany | 40 | 92 |
| 10. | David Beckham | England | 36 | 115 |
Italics indicate active players.
* The statistics for Ferenc Puskas, Sandor Kocsis, and Pele are estimated due to inconsistent record-keeping from their careers.
Landon Donovan 58 Assists
This is a compilation of all 58 assists credited to Landon Donovan in his USMNT tenure (through February of 2014). I compiled these videos from various sources on YouTube. For full videos of highlights visit these channels (among others): http://www.youtube.com/user/ussoccerdotcom http://www.youtube.com/user/concacaf http://www.youtube.com/user/FIFATV http://www.youtube.com/user/sp1873 Here are the assists listed by date and opponent.
Future of Assists: Neymar vs. Messi
Throughout his career, Lionel Messi has often been compared to Cristiano Ronaldo, but his rivalry with Neymar is notable as well, especially with both representing Brazil and Argentina respectively.
Both players boast impressive international assist records and are likely to clinch the top spots by the end of their careers. Messi, at 37 years old as of June 2024, is positioned to claim the record within the next year. Neymar, being younger but recovering from injury, may find it challenging to keep pace with Messi.
As for Cristiano Ronaldo, while he’s improved his assist totals, it seems unlikely he will threaten Donovan’s record, especially at age 39. However, he could still rise higher on the assists leaderboard during Euro 2024.
