Lionel Messi is an Argentine footballer who has represented the Argentina national team from his debut in 2005. Throughout his international career, Messi has scored 112 goals in 191 international appearances, [1] [2] making him the country's all-time top scorer; he surpassed Gabriel Batistuta's record of 54 goals with a free kick against the United States in the semi-final of the Copa América Centenario on 21 June 2016. [3] [4] He also holds the record for most goals by a South American male, surpassing Brazilian Pelé's 77 goals with a hat-trick against Bolivia on 9 September 2021. [5] He currently sits as the second-highest international goalscorer of all time after scoring against Canada in the 2024 Copa América semi-final. [6]
Messi made his debut for Argentina in a 2–1 away win over Hungary on 17 August 2005, [7] and scored his first international goal the following year in his sixth appearance, against Croatia. [1] His goal against Serbia and Montenegro, on 16 June 2006, at the age of 18 years and 358 days, made him the youngest-ever scorer for Argentina at a FIFA World Cup. [8] [9] He has scored ten international hat-tricks, and has netted twice in a match on thirteen occasions. [1] In a friendly against Estonia on 5 June 2022, Messi scored five goals in a match for Argentina for the first time. [10] Out of all his opponents, Messi has scored the most against Bolivia, recording eleven goals in total. [1] He has scored 17 international goals at the Estadio Monumental, his most in a single stadium. [1] In 2022, Messi broke the record for the most international goals scored in a calendar year for Argentina, with eighteen. [11]
Messi has scored 34 goals in FIFA World Cup qualifiers, making him the highest scorer of the qualification in CONMEBOL. [12] He has scored fourteen goals in the Copa América; two in 2007, one in 2015, five in 2016, one in 2019, four in 2021 and one in 2024. [1] Messi has scored thirteen goals in FIFA World Cup tournaments, [1] a record for Argentina; [13] he scored one goal in 2006, four in 2014, one in 2018 and another seven in 2022. The remainder of Messi's goals, 51, have come in friendlies. [1]
‡ | Indicates goal was scored from a penalty kick |
---|---|
Indicates Argentina won the match | |
Indicates the match ended in a draw (a penalty shootout is recorded as a draw regardless of shootout results) | |
Indicates Argentina lost the match |
No. | Cap | Date | Venue | Opponent | Score | Result | Competition | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | 6 | 1 March 2006 | St. Jakob-Park, Basel, Switzerland | Croatia | 2–1 | 2–3 | Friendly | [14] |
2 | 8 | 16 June 2006 | Arena AufSchalke, Gelsenkirchen, Germany | Serbia and Montenegro | 6–0 | 6–0 | 2006 FIFA World Cup | [9] |
3 | 14 | 5 June 2007 | Camp Nou, Barcelona, Spain | Algeria | 2–2‡ | 4–3 | Friendly | [15] |
4 | 4–2 | |||||||
5 | 18 | 8 July 2007 | Estadio Metropolitano, Barquisimeto, Venezuela | Peru | 2–0 | 4–0 | 2007 Copa América | [16] |
6 | 19 | 11 July 2007 | Polideportivo Cachamay, Puerto Ordaz, Venezuela | Mexico | 2–0 | 3–0 | [17] | |
7 | 24 | 16 October 2007 | Estadio José Pachencho Romero, Maracaibo, Venezuela | Venezuela | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification | [18] |
8 | 26 | 20 November 2007 | Estadio El Campín, Bogotá, Colombia | Colombia | 1–0 | 1–2 | [19] | |
9 | 27 | 4 June 2008 | Qualcomm Stadium, San Diego, United States | Mexico | 2–0 | 4–1 | Friendly | [20] |
10 | 33 | 11 October 2008 | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Uruguay | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification | [21] |
11 | 35 | 11 February 2009 | Stade Vélodrome, Marseille, France | France | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | [22] |
12 | 36 | 28 March 2009 | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Venezuela | 1–0 | 4–0 | 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification | [23] |
13 | 44 | 14 November 2009 | Estadio Vicente Calderón, Madrid, Spain | Spain | 1–1‡ | 1–2 | Friendly | [24] |
14 | 52 | 7 September 2010 | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Spain | 1–0 | 4–1 | [25] | |
15 | 54 | 17 November 2010 | Khalifa International Stadium, Doha, Qatar | Brazil | 1–0 | 1–0 | [26] | |
16 | 55 | 9 February 2011 | Stade de Genève, Geneva, Switzerland | Portugal | 2–1‡ | 2–1 | [27] | |
17 | 57 | 20 June 2011 | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Albania | 2–0 | 4–0 | [28] | |
18 | 64 | 7 October 2011 | Chile | 2–0 | 4–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification | [29] | |
19 | 67 | 15 November 2011 | Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez, Barranquilla, Colombia | Colombia | 1–1 | 2–1 | [30] | |
20 | 68 | 29 February 2012 | Stade de Suisse, Bern, Switzerland | Switzerland | 1–0 | 3–1 | Friendly | [31] |
21 | 2–1 | |||||||
22 | 3–1‡ | |||||||
23 | 69 | 2 June 2012 | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Ecuador | 3–0 | 4–0 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification | [32] |
24 | 70 | 9 June 2012 | MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, United States | Brazil | 1–1 | 4–3 | Friendly | [33] |
25 | 2–1 | |||||||
26 | 4–3 | |||||||
27 | 71 | 15 August 2012 | Waldstadion, Frankfurt, Germany | Germany | 2–0 | 3–1 | [34] | |
28 | 72 | 7 September 2012 | Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdoba, Argentina | Paraguay | 3–1 | 3–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification | [35] |
29 | 74 | 12 October 2012 | Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza, Argentina | Uruguay | 1–0 | 3–0 | [36] | |
30 | 3–0 | |||||||
31 | 75 | 16 October 2012 | Estadio Nacional, Santiago, Chile | Chile | 1–0 | 2–1 | [37] | |
32 | 78 | 22 March 2013 | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Venezuela | 2–0‡ | 3–0 | [38] | |
33 | 82 | 14 June 2013 | Estadio Nacional Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala | Guatemala | 1–0 | 4–0 | Friendly | [39] |
34 | 3–0‡ | |||||||
35 | 4–0 | |||||||
36 | 83 | 10 September 2013 | Estadio Defensores del Chaco, Asunción, Paraguay | Paraguay | 1–0‡ | 5–2 | 2014 FIFA World Cup qualification | [40] |
37 | 4–1‡ | |||||||
38 | 86 | 7 June 2014 | Estadio Ciudad de La Plata, La Plata, Argentina | Slovenia | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | [41] |
39 | 87 | 15 June 2014 | Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Bosnia and Herzegovina | 2–0 | 2–1 | 2014 FIFA World Cup | [42] |
40 | 88 | 21 June 2014 | Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil | Iran | 1–0 | 1–0 | [43] | |
41 | 89 | 25 June 2014 | Estádio Beira-Rio, Porto Alegre, Brazil | Nigeria | 1–0 | 3–2 | [44] | |
42 | 2–1 | |||||||
43 | 95 | 14 October 2014 | Hong Kong Stadium, So Kon Po, Hong Kong | Hong Kong | 5–0 | 7–0 | Friendly | [45] |
44 | 7–0 | |||||||
45 | 96 | 12 November 2014 | Upton Park, London, England | Croatia | 2–1‡ | 2–1 | [46] | |
46 | 98 | 13 June 2015 | Estadio La Portada, La Serena, Chile | Paraguay | 2–0‡ | 2–2 | 2015 Copa América | [47] |
47 | 104 | 4 September 2015 | BBVA Compass Stadium, Houston, United States | Bolivia | 5–0 | 7–0 | Friendly | [48] |
48 | 6–0 | |||||||
49 | 105 | 8 September 2015 | AT&T Stadium, Arlington, United States | Mexico | 2–2 | 2–2 | [49] | |
50 | 107 | 29 March 2016 | Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes, Córdoba, Argentina | Bolivia | 2–0‡ | 2–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | [50] |
51 | 109 | 10 June 2016 | Soldier Field, Chicago, United States | Panama | 2–0 | 5–0 | Copa América Centenario | [51] |
52 | 3–0 | |||||||
53 | 4–0 | |||||||
54 | 111 | 18 June 2016 | Gillette Stadium, Foxborough, United States | Venezuela | 3–0 | 4–1 | Copa América Centenario | [52] |
55 | 112 | 21 June 2016 | NRG Stadium, Houston, United States | United States | 2–0 | 4–0 | [53] | |
56 | 114 | 1 September 2016 | Estadio Malvinas Argentinas, Mendoza, Argentina | Uruguay | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | [54] |
57 | 116 | 15 November 2016 | Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario, San Juan, Argentina | Colombia | 1–0 | 3–0 | [55] | |
58 | 117 | 23 March 2017 | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Chile | 1–0‡ | 1–0 | [56] | |
59 | 122 | 10 October 2017 | Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito, Ecuador | Ecuador | 1–1 | 3–1 | [57] | |
60 | 2–1 | |||||||
61 | 3–1 | |||||||
62 | 124 | 29 May 2018 | La Bombonera, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Haiti | 1–0‡ | 4–0 | Friendly | [58] |
63 | 2–0 | |||||||
64 | 3–0 | |||||||
65 | 127 | 26 June 2018 | Krestovsky Stadium, Saint Petersburg, Russia | Nigeria | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2018 FIFA World Cup | [59] |
66 | 130 | 7 June 2019 | Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario, San Juan, Argentina | Nicaragua | 1–0 | 5–1 | Friendly | [60] |
67 | 2–0 | |||||||
68 | 132 | 19 June 2019 | Estádio Mineirão, Belo Horizonte, Brazil | Paraguay | 1–1‡ | 1–1 | 2019 Copa América | [61] |
69 | 137 | 15 November 2019 | King Saud University Stadium, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia | Brazil | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2019 Superclásico de las Américas | [62] |
70 | 138 | 18 November 2019 | Bloomfield Stadium, Tel Aviv, Israel | Uruguay | 2–2‡ | 2–2 | Friendly | [63] |
71 | 139 | 8 October 2020 | La Bombonera, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Ecuador | 1–0‡ | 1–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | [64] |
72 | 143 | 3 June 2021 | Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades, Santiago del Estero, Argentina | Chile | 1–0‡ | 1–1 | [65] | |
73 | 145 | 14 June 2021 | Estádio Olímpico Nilton Santos, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil | Chile | 1–0 | 1–1 | 2021 Copa América | [66] |
74 | 148 | 28 June 2021 | Arena Pantanal, Cuiabá, Brazil | Bolivia | 2–0‡ | 4–1 | [67] | |
75 | 3–0 | |||||||
76 | 149 | 3 July 2021 | Estádio Olímpico Pedro Ludovico, Goiânia, Brazil | Ecuador | 3–0 | 3–0 | 2021 Copa América | [68] |
77 | 153 | 9 September 2021 | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Bolivia | 1–0 | 3–0 | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | [69] |
78 | 2–0 | |||||||
79 | 3–0 | |||||||
80 | 155 | 10 October 2021 | Uruguay | 1–0 | 3–0 | [70] | ||
81 | 159 | 25 March 2022 | La Bombonera, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Venezuela | 3–0 | 3–0 | [71] | |
82 | 162 | 5 June 2022 | Estadio El Sadar, Pamplona, Spain | Estonia | 1–0‡ | 5–0 | Friendly | [10] |
83 | 2–0 | |||||||
84 | 3–0 | |||||||
85 | 4–0 | |||||||
86 | 5–0 | |||||||
87 | 163 | 23 September 2022 | Hard Rock Stadium, Miami Gardens, United States | Honduras | 2–0‡ | 3–0 | [72] | |
88 | 3–0 | |||||||
89 | 164 | 27 September 2022 | Red Bull Arena, Harrison, United States | Jamaica | 2–0 | 3–0 | [73] | |
90 | 3–0 | |||||||
91 | 165 | 16 November 2022 | Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium, Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates | United Arab Emirates | 4–0 | 5–0 | [74] | |
92 | 166 | 22 November 2022 | Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar | Saudi Arabia | 1–0‡ | 1–2 | 2022 FIFA World Cup | [75] |
93 | 167 | 26 November 2022 | Mexico | 1–0 | 2–0 | [76] | ||
94 | 169 | 3 December 2022 | Ahmad bin Ali Stadium, Al Rayyan, Qatar | Australia | 1–0 | 2–1 | 2022 FIFA World Cup | [77] |
95 | 170 | 9 December 2022 | Lusail Stadium, Lusail, Qatar | Netherlands | 2–0‡ | 2–2 ( a.e.t. ) ( 4–3 p) | [78] | |
96 | 171 | 13 December 2022 | Croatia | 1–0‡ | 3–0 | [79] | ||
97 | 172 | 18 December 2022 | France | 1–0‡ | 3–3 ( a.e.t. ) ( 4–2 p) | 2022 FIFA World Cup final | [80] | |
98 | 3–2 | |||||||
99 | 173 | 23 March 2023 | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Panama | 2–0 | 2–0 | Friendly | [81] |
100 | 174 | 28 March 2023 | Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades, Santiago del Estero, Argentina | Curaçao | 1–0 | 7–0 | [82] | |
101 | 3–0 | |||||||
102 | 5–0 | |||||||
103 | 175 | 15 June 2023 | Workers' Stadium, Beijing, China | Australia | 1–0 | 2–0 | [83] | |
104 | 176 | 7 September 2023 | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Ecuador | 1–0 | 1–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | [84] |
105 | 178 | 17 October 2023 | Estadio Nacional de Lima, Lima, Peru | Peru | 1–0 | 2–0 | [85] | |
106 | 2–0 | |||||||
107 | 182 | 14 June 2024 | Commanders Field, Landover, United States | Guatemala | 1–1 | 4–1 | Friendly | [86] |
108 | 4–1 | |||||||
109 | 186 | 9 July 2024 | MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, United States | Canada | 2–0 | 2–0 | 2024 Copa América | [87] |
110 | 189 | 15 October 2024 | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Bolivia | 1–0 | 6–0 | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | [88] |
111 | 5–0 | |||||||
112 | 6–0 | |||||||
No. | Opponent | Goals | Score | Venue | Competition | Date | Ref. |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Switzerland | 3 – (1–0', 2–1', 3–1') | 3–1 | Stade de Suisse, Bern, Switzerland | Friendly | 29 February 2012 | [31] |
2 | Brazil | 3 – (1–1', 2–1', 4–3') | 4–3 | MetLife Stadium, East Rutherford, United States | 9 June 2012 | [33] | |
3 | Guatemala | 3 – (1–0', 3–0', 4–0') | 4–0 | Estadio Nacional Mateo Flores, Guatemala City, Guatemala | 14 June 2013 | [39] | |
4 | Panama | 3 – (2–0', 3–0', 4–0') | 5–0 | Soldier Field, Chicago, United States | Copa América Centenario | 10 June 2016 | [51] |
5 | Ecuador | 3 – (1–1', 2–1', 3–1') | 3–1 | Estadio Olímpico Atahualpa, Quito, Ecuador | 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification | 10 October 2017 | [57] |
6 | Haiti | 3 – (1–0', 2–0', 3–0') | 4–0 | La Bombonera, Buenos Aires, Argentina | Friendly | 29 May 2018 | [58] |
7 | Bolivia | 3 – (1–0', 2–0', 3–0') | 3–0 | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | 2022 FIFA World Cup qualification | 9 September 2021 | [69] |
8 | Estonia | 5 – (1–0', 2–0', 3–0', 4–0', 5–0') | 5–0 | Estadio El Sadar, Pamplona, Spain | Friendly | 5 June 2022 | [10] |
9 | Curaçao | 3 – (1–0', 3–0', 5–0') | 7–0 | Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades, Santiago del Estero, Argentina | 28 March 2023 | [82] | |
10 | Bolivia | 3 – (1–0', 5–0', 6–0') | 6–0 | Estadio Monumental, Buenos Aires, Argentina | 2026 FIFA World Cup qualification | 15 October 2024 | [88] |
|
|
|
Cristiano Ronaldo dos Santos Aveiro is a Portuguese professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both the Saudi Pro League club Al Nassr and the Portugal national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Ronaldo has won numerous individual accolades throughout his career, such as five Ballon d'Or awards, a record three UEFA Men's Player of the Year Awards, four European Golden Shoes, and was named five times the world's best player by FIFA, the most by a European player. He has won 33 trophies in his career, including seven league titles, five UEFA Champions Leagues, the UEFA European Championship and the UEFA Nations League. Ronaldo holds the records for most appearances (183), goals (140) and assists (42) in the Champions League, most appearances (30), assists (8), goals in the European Championship (14), international appearances (217) and international goals (135). He is one of the few players to have made over 1,200 professional career appearances, the most by an outfield player, and has scored over 900 official senior career goals for club and country, making him the top goalscorer of all time.
Lionel Andrés "Leo" Messi, is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Messi set numerous records for individual accolades won throughout his professional footballing career such as eight Ballon d'Or awards and eight times being named the world's best player by FIFA. He is the most decorated player in the history of professional football having won 45 team trophies, including twelve Big Five league titles, four UEFA Champions Leagues, two Copa Américas, and one FIFA World Cup. Messi holds the records for most European Golden Shoes (6), most goals for a single club, most goals (474), hat-tricks (36) and assists (192) in La Liga, most matches played (39), assists (18) and goal contributions (34) in the Copa América, most matches played (26) and goal contributions (21) in the World Cup, most international appearances (191) and international goals (112) by a South American male, and the second-most in the latter category outright. A prolific goalscorer and creative playmaker, Messi has scored over 850 senior career goals for club and country.
Ángel Fabián Di María is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a right winger or attacking midfielder for Primeira Liga club Benfica. Known for his trickery, rapid pace, and agility, Di María is widely considered one of the greatest Argentine players of all time and one of the greatest wingers in the history of the sport.
New Maradona or New Diego was a title given by the press and public to promising Argentine football players in reference to Diego Maradona as a benchmark. Since Maradona retired, fans had been anticipating someone to lead the Argentina national team to a World Cup final, like Maradona did in 1986 and 1990. As a consequence, very talented youngsters were quickly labeled as the New Maradona, sometimes without any similarity in playing style. The New Maradonas were predominantly players in attacking or advanced playmaking roles — forwards, wingers, or attacking midfielders. The term gradually fell out of use after Lionel Messi successfully managed to lead Argentina to World Cup finals in 2014 and 2022, winning it in the latter, arguably emulating and surpassing Maradona to become the most successful Argentine footballer ever.
Gary Alexis Medel Soto is a Chilean professional footballer who plays for Argentine Primera División club Boca Juniors and the Chile national team as a centre-back and a defensive midfielder.
Nicolás Hernán Gonzalo Otamendi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for and captains Primeira Liga club Benfica.
This is a list of statistical records for the Argentina national football team.
Faustino Marcos Alberto Rojo is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a defender for Boca Juniors, where he is captain.
Germán Alejo Pezzella is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a centre-back for Argentine Primera División club River Plate and the Argentina national team, with whom he won the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
Paulo Exequiel Dybala is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as an attacking midfielder or winger for Serie A club Roma and the Argentina national team. Nicknamed "La Joya", he is known for his dribbling and goalscoring.
Leandro Daniel Paredes is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Serie A club Roma and the Argentina national team. He was part of the Argentina squad that won the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
The Messi–Ronaldo rivalry, or Ronaldo–Messi rivalry, is a sporting rivalry in football propelled by the media and fans that involves Argentine footballer Lionel Messi and Portuguese footballer Cristiano Ronaldo, mainly for being contemporaries and due to their similar records and sporting successes. They spent nine seasons in the prime of their careers facing off regularly while playing for rival clubs Barcelona and Real Madrid.
Guido Rodríguez is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a defensive midfielder for Premier League club West Ham United and the Argentina national team.
Lucas Nicolás Alario is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for Campeonato Brasileiro Série A club Internacional.
Lautaro Javier Martínez is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a striker for Serie A club Inter Milan, which he captains, and the Argentina national team. Widely regarded as one of the best strikers in the world, Martínez is known for his prolific goalscoring, link-up play, and positioning inside the box.
Julián Alvarez is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for La Liga club Atlético Madrid and the Argentina national team.
Lionel Messi is an Argentine professional footballer who plays as a forward for and captains both Major League Soccer club Inter Miami and the Argentina national team. His individual achievements include eight Ballon d'Or awards, the most for any footballer. Having won 45 team trophies, he is the most decorated player in the history of professional football. His remarkable goal-scoring ability, masterful ball control, high level passing and playmaking as well as his outstanding dribbling skills has earned him recognition as one of the greatest and most iconic players in football history. In 2024, US-based sports company ESPN named Messi the greatest player of the 21st-century.