He made 85 appearances for the Hungarian national team between 1945 and 1956, scoring 84 goals. He also appeared four times for the Spanish national team in 1961 and 1962, but did not score. His 84 international goals were an all-time record (for men) until 2003, when it was broken by Iran's Ali Daei.
He is understood to be one of the most famous living Hungarians and lives now in Budapest, Hungary in a special care home. Hungary's national stadium was renamed in his honor in 2001.