If Lionel Messi scores his 800th goal against Panama or Curacao, will it be official or not?

Three months after getting the World Cup in Qatar, Argentina will celebrate the title at home and with all the world champions with two friendlies, against Panama and Curacao, taking advantage of the first FIFA appointment of the year. Captain Lionel MessiIn addition, he has the possibility of scoring the 800th goal of his senior career and the 100th with the biancoceleste shirt.

Beyond the feeble and strange rivals of occasion, until a few days ago there were no doubts that the two friendlies were official, according to FIFA rules. However, the arrival of a Panamanian team with a majority of substitutes, an alternative coach and the ability to make more changes than allowedquestions the status of an international category A party.

There is a logical deduction: if all those who have been world champions are playing, how can it be unofficial, how can Messi not count on Messi’s presence and possible goals, especially if he is about to score 800, among the 701 he has in clubs and 98 in the national team. It’s not about Argentina but about rivals and regulations.

For FIFA, there are two types of official matches, those of competition, such as World Cups, Qualifications, Confederations and competitions organized by their direct affiliates, i.e. the confederations. And the FIFA friendlies, which are played according to its rules. FIFA states in the Regulations for international matches with respect to matches considered A: “Match played by the first national teams of two affiliated federations (national team “A”).

In point 7 of the same, he reiterates two concepts: “1. In the context of these regulations, international competitions of the highest level are understood to mean those in which the two participating teams are the “A” national teams of the two competing affiliated federations or those in which at least one of them is a combined team. 2. FIFA and the participating confederations and member associations will authorize top-level international matches. Annex A contains a summary of the clearances required for an international match of this level.”

That means, Argentina-Panama and Argentina-Curaçao are, a priori, international matches of the highest level. All the more so if all the cards are in order, the authorizations and the payment of the taxes due to the Zurich institution. If, on the other hand, the opponent is a young person (under 23) or a club, the match passes to a second or third level category, depending on the request of the friendly organizer.

Another issue weighing in on Selection A’s international matches is the number of changes that can be made. In the FIFA Laws of the Game, specify, in Law 3, the number of substitutions. He says: “A maximum of six substitutes may be used in national team A matches.”.

Although five changes can now be made to official matches (interim decision by the International Council due to the covid-19 pandemic), there is no definition after 2004 when FIFA limited the number of changes to international matches. Against Panama and Curaçao, according to the latest information, there will be only six changes. Everything indicates that both will be international A.

In history, the national team has played 1,028 official Serie A matches and another 300 friendlies not considered top level. The last one, on December 29, 2004, in Barcelona against the Catalan national team. That day, the team led by José Pekerman won 3-0 Lionel Messi’s international debut was just six months away, on 17 August 2005, against Hungary (2-1) in Budapest. Since then, none of the 232 matches Argentina has played, of which Messi played 172, have called into question whether they are considered category A.

During the Marcelo Bielsa era, Argentina played three category B matches. The first against Espanyol de Barcelona (0-2), on November 14, 1999, on the occasion of the Catalan club’s centenary; then, on Diego Maradona’s farewell day, November 10, 2001, against the Estrellas team (3-0); and the last, before the Korea/Japan 2002 World Cup, a friendly match against the Japanese club Kashima Antlers (5-1).

Similarly, the matches between Rest of the World (3–0) and Rest of the Americas (2-1), played in 1991 with Alfio Basile as coach, have no category A. That’s why Coco’s unbeaten record had 31 international matches and not 33. Similarly, the staggered he surpassed that threshold to reach 36, a streak that ended on his Qatar debut when he lost 2-1 to Saudi Arabia.

Diego Maradona has 87 international A matches in the national team. It was long counted as 91, but a review within FIFA at the turn of the 21st century removed the international category A from four matches. In two of them Maradona scored goals and that’s why they are 31 and not 33. One was on June 25, 1979, against a team called Resto del Mondo, to celebrate the first anniversary of the world championship, a meeting which also saw characterized the organization of clarion. Argentina lost 2-1 and Diego scored a great goal, with his left foot, into the right corner of the goal defended by Brazilian goalkeeper Leao.

Besides, there were others three games against the Republic of Ireland between 1978 and 1980, which has always featured an Irish Championship team. The only match A against those of the green army It was May 16, 1980, in Dublin, with a 1-0 victory with a goal from Daniel Valencia. Menotti’s side also played matches across the country against select league or club sides and on international tours faced Valencia, Fiorentina and Barcelona, ​​​​​​among others.

With Carlos Bilardo, meanwhile, the Argentine team faced Valladolid, Naples and Grasshopper, among others, already minor teams such as Hungary (actually Vasas) and Romania in the Nehru Cup in 1984, or the Guatemala team in 1990 In the Basile stage, only those two were mentioned. Meanwhile, during the Daniel Passarella era there were four second-tier matches as the rivals were under-23 teams: Romania (1-0), Slovakia (6-0, 2 goals from Gabriel Batistuta), Poland (2- 0) and Romania ( 2-1).

The most emblematic unofficial match in history is still the 3-1 win against England on May 14, 1953. The appointment was fixed at the last moment due to the great expectation generated by the visit of the English national team whose official date was the 17th, three days later. At the first meeting at the Monumentale (the unofficial one) there was participation more than 86 thousand people, since 85,483 general tickets were sold, plus 1,065 popular invitations and 849 for the general public. The British did not wear their official coat. Finally, The match scheduled and authorized by the FA and FIFA was played on Sunday 17th.. There were nearly 100,000 spectators and it was suspended after 23 minutes of the first half due to rain. The first few years, the 3-1 did not appear in the official programs that the AFA prepared for international matches. The English books don’t even record it.

In the 21st century, there are many more institutional channels to find out and determine if a match meets all the requirements to be considered a FIFA National A friendly. Even if doubts always linger, sometimes due to a lack of communication. It is to be hoped that everything is transparent in Thursday’s games against Panama and Tuesday against Curaçao. And if he scores, That there is no doubt about Messi’s 800th goal career or 100 in the national team. Of course, beyond these details, it will be a celebration for the people and protagonists who have obtained the third star.