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List of international goals scored by Benni McCarthy

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Benedict McCarthy is a former South African footballer who represented his country 79 times and scored 31 goals between 1997 and 2012.[1] He played as a forward during the course of his career and is the top scorer in the history of the national team, having broken Shaun Bartlett's previous record of 29 international goals in a friendly win over Paraguay in March 2008.[2]

Benni McCarthy is the South Africa national football team's record goal scorer.
Benni McCarthy is South Africa's record goal scorer with 31 international goals to his name.

Having previously represented South Africa at under-23 level, McCarthy made his senior debut on 4 June 1997 against the Netherlands.[3] He scored his first international goals on 16 February 1998, scoring four times in 13 minutes against Namibia at the 1998 African Cup of Nations. He added another goal against Morocco and scored twice more against the Democratic Republic of Congo to lead South Africa to the final. Though the nation were ultimately beaten by Egypt, McCarthy was named Player of the Tournament, and collected the Top Scorer award for his seven goals.[4][5] Later that year, at the 1998 FIFA World Cup in France, he scored South Africa's first ever goal at a World Cup finals, netting the equaliser in a 1–1 draw with Denmark that saw the nation earn a point at the competition for the first time.[6] Adding three friendly goals against Iceland and Egypt, McCarthy ended with 11 goals to his name for the year.

He temporarily retired from international football in 1999 following club-versus-country conflicts and missed the 2000 African Cup of Nations as a result.[7] Two years later, he scored at the 2002 FIFA World Cup in a 3–2 loss to Spain.[8]

On 9 September 2007, McCarthy equalled Bartlett's national record when he scored in a 3–1 loss to Zambia.[9] He broke the record the following year against Paraguay and scored one more goal before retiring from football in 2013 at the age of 35.[10] At the time of his retirement, he was South Africa's fourth most-capped player. Of McCarthy's 31 international goals, 15 were scored in friendlies – including 2 at the HKSAR Reunification Cup and 1 at U.S. Cup – 7 at the African Cup of Nations, 4 during African Cup of Nations qualifying, 3 in World Cup qualifying and a further 2 at the World Cup finals.

International goals

South Africa score listed first, score column indicates score after each McCarthy goal.[11]
More information No., Date ...
International goals scored by Benni McCarthy
No. Date Venue Opponent Score Result Competition Ref(s)
1 16 February 1998Stade Omnisport, Bobo-Dioulasso, Burkina Faso Namibia1–04–11998 African Cup of Nations[4][12]
2 2–0[4][12]
3 3–0[4][12]
4 4–0[4][12]
5 22 February 1998Stade Municipal, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso Morocco1–02–1[5][12]
6 25 February 1998 DR Congo1–12–1[5][12]
7 2–1[5][12]
8 6 June 1998Baiersbronn Stadion, Baiersbronn, Germany Iceland1–01–1Friendly[13][14]
9 18 June 1998Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse, France Denmark1–11–11998 FIFA World Cup[6][15]
10 16 December 1998FNB Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa Egypt1–12–1Friendly[16][17]
11 2–1[16][17]
12 27 February 1999Odi Stadium, Mabopane, South Africa Gabon4–14–12000 African Cup of Nations qualification[18][19]
13 5 June 1999ABSA Stadium, Durban, South Africa Mauritius2–02–0[20][21]
14 7 June 2000The Cotton Bowl, Dallas, United States Mexico1–22–42000 Nike U.S. Cup[22]
15 24 March 2001Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth, South Africa Mauritius1–03–02002 African Cup of Nations qualification[23][24]
16 5 May 2001Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg, South Africa Zimbabwe2–02–12002 World Cup qualification[23][25]
17 15 January 2002Mmabatho Stadium, Mafikeng, South Africa Angola1–01–0Friendly[23][26]
18 23 May 2002Hong Kong Stadium, Hong Kong Island, Hong Kong Turkey1–02–0HKSAR Reunification Cup[27]
19 2–0[27]
20 12 June 2002Daejeon World Cup Stadium, Daejeon, South Korea Spain1–12–32002 FIFA World Cup[8][28]
21 22 May 2003ABSA Stadium, Durban, South Africa England1–11–2Friendly[29][30]
22 15 November 2003Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt Egypt1–01–2Friendly[31][32]
23 18 August 2004Stade El Menzah, Tunis, Tunisia Tunisia2–02–0Friendly[23][33]
24 10 October 2004Mandela National Stadium, Kampala, Uganda Uganda1–01–02006 World Cup qualification[23][34]
25 9 February 2005ABSA Stadium, Durban, South Africa Australia1–01–1Friendly[23][35]
26 4 June 2005Estádio da Várzea, Praia, Cape Verde Cape Verde1–02–02006 World Cup qualification[23][36]
27 7 September 2005Weser-Stadion, Bremen, Germany Germany2–32–4Friendly[37][38]
28 14 January 2006Cairo International Stadium, Cairo, Egypt Egypt2–12–1Friendly[39]
29 9 September 2007Newlands Stadium, Cape Town, South Africa Zambia1–31–32008 Africa Cup of Nations qualification[9]
30 26 March 2008Super Stadium, Atteridgeville, South Africa Paraguay2–03–0Friendly[2]
31 15 October 2008Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein, South Africa Ghana1–12–1Friendly[40][41]
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