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Lionel Messi scored his 79th international career goal for Argentina, surpassing the South American men’s record held by Brazilian legend Pelé.
Messi scored all three goals in Argentina’s 3-0 win over Bolivia on Thursday in a World Cup qualifier at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires, giving him two more than Pelé, who has scored 77 career goals in international matches.
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Messi is behind Brazilian duo Marta (109) and Cristiane (96) for the overall record for most goals scored by a South American player at international level.
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Third on the men’s list is Messi’s Paris Saint-Germain teammate Neymar, who has 69 international goals for Brazil.
“I was very nervous, I just wanted to enjoy the night. I waited for this a long time,” said an emotional Messi after the game. “We won the game which was the most important thing and now we can celebrate.”
Three-time World Cup winner Pelé is still hospitalized with surgery for a colon tumor on Monday, although the 80-year-old said the operation was a “big win”.
Messi, 34, has had a summer to remember – changing clubs from Barcelona to PSG in August and winning his first senior international football title in July. Him and The Albiceleste won Brazil’s Copa America in a 1-0 victory at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
After Thursday’s result, Messi danced with his teammates and showed the Copa trophy to the 21,000 supporters present.
“It was a unique moment [to win the Copa America] because of where and how we got the title, ”Messi said.
“There was no better way to do it and to have been able to celebrate the title now, it’s amazing. My mother, my brothers are here in the stands. They have suffered a lot … I’m very happy . “
Thursday’s game also came days after Argentina’s World Cup qualifier against Brazil – their first rematch since the Copa final – was controversially suspended. Brazilian health officials entered the grounds of Sao Paulo’s Corinthians Arena with the match underway and accused four Argentinian players of failing to follow Brazil’s COVID-19 protocols to enter the country.
With 26 goals in World Cup qualifying games after his hat-trick against Bolivia, Messi also overtakes Uruguayan star Luis Suarez – his former Barcelona teammate – for most CONMEBOL players.
With eight career goals against Bolivia in 11 games, this is Messi’s most goals against a single opponent while wearing the Argentina jersey.
Messi is also his country’s all-time top scorer, having passed Gabriel Batistuta (54 goals) in 2016. He is also Argentina’s most capped player, Thursday’s game against Bolivia marking his 153rd international appearance. .
Prior to the Copa America victory, Messi had lost four major finals with the Argentina senior team. They were beaten by Germany in the 2014 World Cup final and lost in the Copa America final in 2007, 2015 and 2016.
He won the Under-20 World Cup in 2005 and an Olympic gold medal with Argentina’s U23s in 2008.
Messi joined PSG over the summer as part of a shock transfer after two decades with Barcelona. Messi had been with Barcelona since 2001, joining the academy the year before.
Messi has made 778 appearances for Barcelona, breaking Xavi Hernandez’s record for appearing in the 2020-21 season. In addition, he scored 672 goals, another club record, and helped Barca win, among other trophies, 10 La Liga titles and the Champions League on four occasions.
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