The Argentine Lionel Messi became the third player in soccer history to reach 100 goals with his team on Tuesday, when he scored in the friendly of the world champions against Curaçao.
In Santiago Del Estero, FIFA’s ‘The Best’ scored the first goal for the Argentines, with his right foot, in the 20th minute, after assistance from Giovani Lo Celso, in his 174th game with the ‘albi-celeste’.
Messi, currently 35 years old, joins the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored 122 goals in 198 games, and the now retired Iranian Ali Daei, who closed his career with 109 goals in 148 games.
The number 10 from Argentina reaches this record in the second friendly after winning the world title, in Qatar, more precisely in Lusail, where, on December 18, 2022, he beat France 4-2 in the final on penalties, after 2-2 at 90 minutes and 3-3 at 120.
The Paris Saint-Germain player is, in fact, living the most productive phase, in terms of goals, for the Argentine team, adding, with the goal against Curaçao, a total of 19 in the last 13 games, since ‘manita’ to Estonia, on June 5, 2022.
In these 13 games, Messi scored in 12, missing only against Poland, in the group stage of the 2022 World Cup, in a match in which, curiously, he even missed a penalty.
The player, born in Rosario on June 24, 1987, made his debut with the Argentine team on August 17, 2005, against Hungary, in a match in which he was sent off shortly after entering the field, and marked his debut in the sixth match, against Croatia, in a friendly disputed on March 1, 2006.
Today he reached 100 goals, in a career for the ‘albi-celeste’ in which, of course, the 2022 world title stands out, which added to the 2021 Copa América and the 2022 Finalísima.
With Argentina’s centenary, Messi has scored a total of 828 goals throughout his senior career, plus 365 assists, in 1,073 games.
If you count only the goals of the senior team and also the main teams of FC Barcelona and Paris Saint-Germain, the total is 801 goals, plus 360 assists, in 1,108 games.
In the 2022/23 season, Messi already has 32 goals and 22 assists in 44 games.
– Top scorers by national team: 1. Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) 122 goals (198 games) 2. Ali Daei (Iran) 109 (148) 3. Lionel Messi (Argentina) 100 (174) 4. Mokhtar Dahari (Malaysia) 89 ( 142) 5. Ferenc Puskás (Hungary) 84 (89). Sunil Chhetri (India) 84 (132) 7. Ali Mabkhout (United Arab Emirates) 80 (109) 8. Godfrey Chitalu (Zambia) 79 (111) 9. Hussein Saeed (Iraq) 78 (137) . Robert Lewandowski (Poland) 78 (140)11. Pelé (Brazil) 77 (92) . Neymar (Brazil) 77 (124)
Source: TSF
