Lionel Messi makes history by walking: he has reached 102 goals with the Argentina national team

100 days after winning the World Cup, Lionel Andrés Messi reached the 102 goal mark for the Argentina national team and it was, finally, against Curaçao at the Madre de Ciudades stadium in Santiago del Estero, a match that Argentina now wins 5- 0.

Gabriel Batistuta’s figure nearly doubled and, moreover, he is the third player in the world to score three figures with a selection. The record is held by the Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo with 122 goals and second by the Iranian Ali Daei with 109 goals.

This Tuesday was Rosario’s 174th game with the blue-and-whites and has a goal average of 0.58. He is also third, because Daei has scored 149 goals and finished with an average of 0.73 goals per game, and CR7 has played 198 games and has an average of 0.61.

Messi made his debut for the national team on August 17, 2005, against Hungary (1-2), a match in which he was sent off 90 seconds after coming on. In 2005 he didn’t score goals but since 2006 he scores him for 18 consecutive years. In 2022, with 18 shouts, 7 at the World Cup, it was his record year and he stood at 98. In this 2023 of celebrations, he scored on Thursday against Panama and now double against Curaçao.

Until the 1980s, Luis Artime was the team’s top scorer with 24 goals. He was overtaken by Diego Maradona, who scored his last goal, the 32nd, in the 1994 World Cup in the United States and against Greece.

Two years later, in September 1996, Bati scored 33 goals in a qualifying match against Paraguay and completed 54 goals in the 2002 Korea/Japan World Cup against Nigeria.

Batigol’s brand seemed unbeatable two decades ago. Messi was just 15 years old and his name was already famous at La Masía in Barcelona. In 2004 he made his debut in the First Division of the culé club and in the Sub 20. In 2005 he reached the major. Eleven years later, it has become a record.

It was during the Copa América Centenario played in the United States. The Argentine captain equaled Bati in a 4-1 win against Venezuela and surpassed him in a 4-0 win against the local side. In the last 6 years he has scored another 45 goals and has reached the centenary milestone.

Most of the 102 goals have been scored in official friendlies, 48. In addition, he scored 28 goals in qualifying, 13 in the Copa América and 13 in the World Cup. He did 90 with his left leg, 10 with his right and 2 with his head. Most came from plays, 68, another 24 from penalties and 10 from free kicks