Ian Rush is a Welsh former professional footballer who represented the Wales national football team from 1980 to 1996, scoring 28 international goals in 73 appearances. He made his debut on 21 May 1980, in a 1–0 defeat against Scotland in the British Home Championship. Rush scored his first international goal two years later in a 3–0 home game victory against Northern Ireland.

In his 55th match, a 6–0 win over the Faroe Islands on 9 September 1992, Rush scored his 23rd international goal and the only hat-trick of his career. This drew him level with the top scorers of Wales: Trevor Ford and Ivor Allchurch. Ford had scored 23 goals in 38 matches between 1947 and 1957, and Allchurch had scored the same number in 68 matches between 1951 and 1966. Rush became the Wales national team's all-time top goalscorer on 31 March 1993, when he broke the record with a goal against Belgium.

Rush scored four more goals in his Wales career to extend the record to 28 goals. He held it until 2018, when Gareth Bale scored his 29th international goal against China. Rush's tally included a goal that saw Wales beat then-world champions Germany in 1991 by a score of 1–0. He retired from international football in 1996, making his final appearance for Wales in a 3–0 defeat to Italy on 24 January. During his international career, Wales failed to progress further than the qualifying stage of any major tournament.

Goals

Scores and results list Wales' goal tally first.

Rush's goals against international opponents

No.	Date	Venue	Cap	Opponent	Score	Result	Competition	Ref.
1	27 May 1982	Racecourse Ground, Wrexham	8	Northern Ireland	3–0	3–0	1982 British Home Championship
2	2 June 1982	Stadium Municipal, Toulouse	9	France	1–0	1–0	Friendly
3	22 September 1982	Vetch Field, Swansea	10	Norway	1–0	1–0	Euro 1984 qualifier
4	15 December 1982	Stadion Pod Goricom, Titograd	11	Yugoslavia	2–3	4–4	Euro 1984 qualifier
5	23 February 1983	Wembley Stadium, London	12	England	1–0	1–2	1983 British Home Championship
6	12 October 1983	Racecourse Ground, Wrexham	15	Romania	1–0	5–0	Friendly
7					3–0
8	26 February 1985	Racecourse Ground, Wrexham	22	Norway	1–1	1–1	Friendly
9	27 March 1985	Hampden Park, Glasgow	23	Scotland	1–0	1–0	1986 World Cup qualifier
10	30 April 1985	Racecourse Ground, Wrexham	24	Spain	1–0	3–0	1986 World Cup qualifier
11					3–0
12	26 March 1986	Lansdowne Road, Dublin	27	Republic of Ireland	1–0	1–0	Friendly
13	1 April 1987	Racecourse Ground, Wrexham	31	Finland	1–0	4–0	Euro 1988 qualifier
14	29 April 1987	Racecourse Ground, Wrexham	32	Czechoslovakia	1–1	1–1	Euro 1988 qualifier
15	1 June 1988	Ta' Qali National Stadium, Valletta	37	Malta	3–2	3–2	Friendly
16	4 June 1988	Stadio Mario Rigamonti, Brescia	38	Italy	1–0	1–0	Friendly
17	17 October 1990	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff	46	Belgium	1–1	3–1	Euro 1992 qualifier
18	14 November 1990	Stade Josy Barthel, Luxembourg	47	Luxembourg	1–0	1–0	Euro 1992 qualifier
19	5 June 1991	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff	51	Germany	1–0	1–0	Euro 1992 qualifier
20	20 May 1992	Stadionul Național, Bucharest	54	Romania	1–5	1–5	1994 World Cup qualifier
21	9 September 1992	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff	55	Faroe Islands	1–0	6–0	1994 World Cup qualifier
22					4–0
23					6–0
24	31 March 1993	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff	58	Belgium	2–0	2–0	1994 World Cup qualifier
25	6 June 1993	Svangaskarð, Toftir	60	Faroe Islands	3–0	3–0	1994 World Cup qualifier
26	8 September 1993	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff	61	RCS	2–1	2–2	1994 World Cup qualifier
27	13 October 1993	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff	62	Cyprus	2–0	2–0	1994 World Cup qualifier
28	23 May 1994	Kadrioru Stadium, Tallinn	66	Estonia	1–0	2–1	Friendly

Statistics

See also

• List of international goals scored by Gareth Bale
• Wales national football team records and statistics