The South African women’s team thumped Algeria 5-1 in their final group encounter of the African Women’s Championships to secure a semi-final berth in the competition, being hosted in neighbouring Namibia.
Modise scored her 99th and coveted 100th goal in the victory against their African rivals, yet was humble when speaking about her achievement in the post-match press conference.
“I am honoured to score 100 goals,” she said. “Without my Banyana Banyana team mates I would not have been able to score these goals.
“So it’s for all of the team and the support I got from them and the technical team. So yes, it’s not only for me, but for the whole of the team.”
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Banyana captain Janine van Wyk heaped praise on the 31-year-old talisman.
"We knew that it was going to happen in this game,” van Wyk said. “We spoke about it ahead of the game and she said ... she is going to score her 100th goal.
"She carries us through the games and we always have hope when Portia Modise is on the field. People do not realise that.
"She is very experienced, she knows how to carry the team and she does so without complaining. We are very happy for her.”
Statistics
- Modise joins an elite group of 13 players to have ever scored 100 goals or more for their country.
- The 31-year-old is the only African player to have achieved this feat.
- Modise’s 100 goals in 117 games puts her third in terms of her goals-per-game ratio of players who have netted over 100 goals for their country: her 0.85 goals/game only puts her behind the retired duo of Julie Fleeting and Elisabetta Vignotto, who have an impressive 0.97 goal/game average.
- United States’ Abby Wambach leads the way with 171 goals in 225 matches for the Stars and Stripes, with the 34-year-old still very much an active member of her side as her tally continues to rise.
- The only male soccer player to score over a century of goals for his country was Iran’s Ali Daei, who scored 109 goals in 149 matches in his 13-year career before retiring in 2006.
- The highest male international goal-scorer who is still active for his country is the Republic of Ireland’s Robbie Keane on 65 goals.
List of all international women players to have scored 100 goals for their country:
Name (Country) Goals/Caps
1 Abby Wambach (United States) 171/225
2 Mia Hamm (United States) 158/275
3 Christine Sinclair (Canada) 148/210
4 Kristine Lilly (United States) 130/352
5 Birgit Prinz (Germany) 128/214
6 Julie Fleeting (Scotland) 116/120
7 Elisabetta Vignotto (Italy) 107/110
8 Sun Wen (China PR) 106/152
9 Michelle Akers (United States) 105/153
Carolina Morace (Italy) 105/153
11 Han Duan (China PR) 101/188
12 Tiffeny Milbrett (United States) 100/204
13 Portia Modise (South Africa) 100/117