Robin van Persie is a Dutch retired professional footballer who played for the Netherlands national football team as a striker. He made his debut for the Netherlands in June 2005, coming on as a substitute for Ruud van Nistelrooy in a 2–0 victory over Romania.[1] His first international goal came in his next appearance for the Netherlands, scoring the final goal in a 4–0 win against Finland in Helsinki during the qualification campaign for the 2006 FIFA World Cup.[1] As of March 2023[update], Van Persie is the Netherlands' all-time top scorer, with 50 goals in 102 appearances, ahead of Memphis Depay (45 in 92) and Klaas-Jan Huntelaar (42 in 76). He became the country's leading scorer in 2013, when he surpassed former leader Patrick Kluivert's tally of 40 goals.[2] Van Persie made his 102nd and final appearance for the Netherlands in August 2017.[3]
Van Persie scored two hat-tricks during his international career. In September 2011, he scored four goals in an 11–0 victory against San Marino in a UEFA Euro 2012 qualifying match. He also scored three goals in a 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifier in an 8–1 win against Hungary in October 2013.[3] He also scored twice in a single match on seven occasions.[3] Van Persie scored more goals against Hungary (six) than any other nation.[3] Twenty of his goals were scored in the Amsterdam Arena.[3]
Van Persie scored more goals in friendlies than in any other format, with fifteen. He scored thirteen goals in qualifying for both the FIFA World Cup and UEFA European Championship, six in FIFA World Cup finals, and three in the UEFA Euro finals.[3]
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