Victor Osimhen has carved out a place among the game’s most lethal international finishers of the 2020s, earning recognition from the International Federation of Football History and Statistics (IFFHS) as one of the leading scorers for national teams in the third decade of the 21st century.
The ranking, which tracks goals scored between 2021 and 2030, reads like a who’s who of modern football royalty.
Yet alongside legends such as Cristiano Ronaldo, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe stands Nigeria’s talismanic striker.
Osimhen is currently tied for 14th place with Serbia’s Aleksandar Mitrovic, with both forwards registering 27 international goals since 2021.
His scoring curve over that stretch underlines remarkable consistency: five goals in each of 2021, 2022 and 2023, followed by three in 2024.
Then came an explosive 2025, when he netted nine times for Nigeria — his most prolific year in national colours.
At the summit of the IFFHS chart is Norway’s unstoppable Erling Haaland with 49 goals. England captain Harry Kane trails on 46, while Messi has delivered 44 for Argentina in the same period. Ronaldo has struck 41 times for Portugal, and Mbappe has 39 for France.
Further down the standings, the Netherlands’ Memphis Depay and Iran’s Mehdi Taremi share 34 goals. Belgium’s Romelu Lukaku and Senegal’s Sadio Mane sit on 32 apiece, while South Korea star Son Heung-min has 28.
For Osimhen, this latest honour reflects a journey that began with his senior debut for Nigeria in 2017. Now 27, he has amassed 35 goals in 51 appearances for the Super Eagles, making him the nation’s second-highest scorer of all time.
He has overtaken notable names such as Yakubu Aiyegbeni, Segun Odegbami, Obafemi Martins and Ikechukwu Uche. Only the late Rashidi Yekini remains ahead of him — and by a slender margin of two goals.
His influence extends well beyond the international arena. Across club and country in 2025, Osimhen struck 46 goals in all competitions, finishing as the joint fifth-highest scorer worldwide.
The tally made him Africa’s most prolific marksman of the year and represented the highest single-year scoring return by an African player since 2019.
Also Read: Two Nigerians Killed Fighting for Russia in Luhansk – Ukraine
In an era defined by elite forwards and relentless competition, Osimhen has not only kept pace — he has firmly announced himself among the game’s most decisive finishers.