List of international goals scored by Gareth Bale
is a Welsh professional footballer who has represented the Wales national football team as a forward since 2006. He made his debut appearance for Wales in May 2006, during a friendly against Trinidad and Tobago; Bale was the youngest ever player to represent the side at the time. In October 2006, during his third appearance for Wales, he scored directly from a free-kick in a 5–1 defeat over Slovakia at a UEFA Euro 2008 qualifier match and became the nation's youngest goal-scorer. As of November 2019, he is the country's all-time top goalscorer with 33 goals in 83 appearances.
On 13 October 2015, Bale scored his 19th international goal in a 2–0 victory over Andorra during Wales' final qualifying match for UEFA Euro 2016, helping secure the nation's first appearance at a major international tournament since the 1958 FIFA World Cup. The goal was his seventh and final tally during the qualifying campaign; he finished the group stage as Wales' top goalscorer. Bale scored in all three group matches at the tournament, with Wales defeating Slovakia, Russia, and England, to reach the semi-finals. His goal in the opening game against Slovakia was the first goal at a major international tournament by a Welsh player since Terry Medwin's goal against Hungary in 1958. He became the Welsh national team's all-time top goalscorer on 22 March 2018 after scoring a hat-trick in a friendly against China at the China Cup. Bale entered the match on 26 goals, two short of fellow countryman Ian Rush's record tally, having not scored an international goal in 18 months since November 2016. He scored twice in the first half of the game to equal Rush's record, before surpassing it with his third goal in the second half. He also became the first Welsh player to score a hat-trick at international level since Robert Earnshaw in 2004.
Bale has played for Wales in the qualifying campaigns of every FIFA World Cup and European Championship since UEFA Euro 2008, and in the finals of one tournament: Euro 2016. The side reached the Euro 2016 semi-finals before being knocked out by eventual champions, Portugal. Bale has scored more times in qualifying matches than in any other type with 22 goals. His other goals include six in friendly matches, three in the Euro 2016 finals, and two in the UEFA Nations League. He has scored more times against China and Andorra than any other opponent with three goals each against them.
Goals
No. | Date | Venue | Cap | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref |
1 | 7 October 2006 | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | 3 | 1–2 | 1–5 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualification | ||
2 | 28 March 2007 | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | 6 | 2–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2008 qualification | ||
3 | 12 October 2010 | St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland | 27 | 1–1 | 1–4 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualification | ||
4 | 7 October 2011 | Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Wales | 31 | 2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualification | ||
5 | 11 October 2011 | Vasil Levski National Stadium, Sofia, Bulgaria | 32 | 1–0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 2012 qualification | ||
6 | 12 November 2011 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | 33 | 1–0 | 4–1 | Friendly | ||
7 | 11 September 2012 | Karađorđe Stadium, Novi Sad, Serbia | 36 | 1–2 | 1–6 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
8 | 12 October 2012 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | 37 | 1–1 | 2–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
9 | 12 October 2012 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | 37 | 2–1 | 2–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
10 | 6 February 2013 | Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Wales | 39 | 1–0 | 2–1 | Friendly | ||
11 | 26 March 2013 | Liberty Stadium, Swansea, Wales | 41 | 1–0 | 1–2 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
12 | 5 March 2014 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | 44 | 3–1 | 3–1 | Friendly | ||
13 | 9 September 2014 | Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella, Andorra | 45 | 1–1 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualification | ||
14 | 9 September 2014 | Estadi Nacional, Andorra la Vella, Andorra | 45 | 2–1 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualification | ||
15 | 28 March 2015 | Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa, Israel | 49 | 2–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualification | ||
16 | 28 March 2015 | Sammy Ofer Stadium, Haifa, Israel | 49 | 3–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualification | ||
17 | 12 June 2015 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | 50 | 1–0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualification | ||
18 | 3 September 2015 | GSP Stadium, Nicosia, Cyprus | 51 | 1–0 | 1–0 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualification | ||
19 | 13 October 2015 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | 54 | 2–0 | 2–0 | UEFA Euro 2016 qualification | ||
20 | 11 June 2016 | Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux, France | 56 | 1–0 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2016 | ||
21 | 16 June 2016 | Stade Bollaert-Delelis, Lens, France | 57 | 1–0 | 1–2 | UEFA Euro 2016 | ||
22 | 20 June 2016 | Stadium Municipal, Toulouse, France | 58 | 3–0 | 3–0 | UEFA Euro 2016 | ||
23 | 5 September 2016 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | 62 | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
24 | 5 September 2016 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | 62 | 4–0 | 4–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
25 | 9 October 2016 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | 64 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
26 | 12 November 2016 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | 65 | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | ||
27 | 22 March 2018 | Guangxi Sports Center, Nanning, China | 69 | 1–0 | 6–0 | 2018 China Cup | ||
28 | 22 March 2018 | Guangxi Sports Center, Nanning, China | 69 | 2–0 | 6–0 | 2018 China Cup | ||
29 | 22 March 2018 | Guangxi Sports Center, Nanning, China | 69 | 6–0 | 6–0 | 2018 China Cup | ||
30 | 6 September 2018 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | 71 | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League B | ||
31 | 16 November 2018 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | 73 | 1–2 | 1–2 | 2018–19 UEFA Nations League B | ||
32 | 6 September 2019 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | 78 | 2–1 | 2–1 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification | ||
33 | 13 October 2019 | Cardiff City Stadium, Cardiff, Wales | 81 | 1–1 | 1–1 | UEFA Euro 2020 qualification |
Statistics
Year | Apps | Goals |
2006 | 4 | 1 |
2007 | 7 | 1 |
2008 | 5 | 0 |
2009 | 7 | 0 |
2010 | 4 | 1 |
2011 | 6 | 3 |
2012 | 5 | 3 |
2013 | 5 | 2 |
2014 | 5 | 3 |
2015 | 6 | 5 |
2016 | 11 | 7 |
2017 | 3 | 0 |
2018 | 6 | 5 |
2019 | 9 | 2 |
Total | 83 | 33 |
Competition | Goals |
UEFA European Championship qualifiers | 14 |
FIFA World Cup qualifiers | 8 |
China Cup | 3 |
UEFA European Championship| | 3 |
Friendlies | 3 |
UEFA Nations League | 2 |
Total | 33 |