Lionel Messi surpasses Pelé to become South America’s top international scorer in men’s football

by



[ad_1]

Messi’s 79 goals in 153 games surpass the 77 of Brazilian great Pelé in 91 games.

The 34-year-old tied Pelé’s record in the 14th minute of Thursday’s game with a left-footed shot from the edge of the box, then continued with a second-half goal thanks to a careful interaction with Lautaro Martínez .

He had another goal ruled for offside but completed his hat trick when he converted a late rebound.

After the game, Messi was in tears as he celebrated Argentina’s Copa América title in front of 21,000 supporters at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires – the first time fans could watch the national team since the start of the match. Covid-19 pandemic.

READ: Haaland and Depay score hat tricks as Norway and Netherlands claim outright wins in World Cup qualifying
Messi celebrates his goal against Bolivia.
The trophy, which Argentina won in July with a 1-0 victory over Brazil, was Messi’s first for his country.

“I was really looking forward to enjoying it. I waited for this a long time, searched for it and dreamed about it. It’s a unique moment for how it happened, having waited so a long time, “Messi said of the Copa América celebration. victory with the fans.

“There is no better way to celebrate it than to be here. My mom and my brothers were in the stands… they suffered a lot and today they are here celebrating. I am so much. happy.”

Following the win over Bolivia, Argentina are now second in the South American World Cup qualifying group for Qatar 2022 with 18 points in eight games, behind Brazil out of 24.

Messi scored his first goal for Argentina in 2006 in a friendly against Croatia. Of his 79 international goals, 35 have been in friendlies, 25 in qualifiers, 12 in the Copa Americas and six in the World Cup.

Messi and Argentina celebrate with the Copa América trophy in front of fans in Buenos Aires.

Brazilian Marta is South America’s top scorer with 109 goals for the women’s team.

Earlier this month, Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo became the top international scorer in men’s football with his 111th goal, surpassing the previous record of 109 held by Iranian Ali Daei.
Ahead of this season, Messi joined French squad Paris Saint-Germain in a bid to win the Champions League, ending his long-term association with Barcelona.
“It’s good for French football, for the league, for the media, for the spectators,” AS Monaco midfielder Cesc Fàbregas, who played alongside Messi in Barcelona, ​​told Amanda Davies. from CNN Sport on the transfer of his former teammate earlier this week.

“I think everyone’s really excited about it. Obviously he’s an icon everywhere he goes. I think that was also unexpected which makes him even better.”

Fàbregas also said he didn’t expect Messi to leave Barcelona, ​​adding: “I didn’t think that day would come. I’ve been through a lot in football, things you can’t even get. imagine and some of them are very unexpected. “

[ad_2]

Source link