Lionel Messi becomes third-highest scorer in men's international football
What's the story
Football superstar Lionel Messi has become the third-highest scorer in men's international football. Messi, who scored a brace in Argentina's 3-0 win over Jamaica in a friendly, has raced to 90 goals. He surpassed former Malaysia international Mokhtar Dahari (89). Messi scored late on for his side as they kept their unbeaten run in place. Here are the details.
Context
Why does this story matter?
Messi has been in top form since the new season has begun. His positive show for Paris Saint-Germain has also helped him be on song for his nation Argentina. After getting a brace versus Honduras, Messi repeated the same against Jamaica. With the 2022 FIFA World Cup next, Messi will be hoping to win the coveted trophy with Argentina, who are playing well.
Information
779 career goals for club and country
Messi has now scored 779 career goals for club and country. Besides his 90 goals for Argentina, he has also netted 689 times at club level. Messi scored a record 672 goals for Barcelona. He has managed 17 goals for PSG so far.
Goals
Messi is only behind Ronaldo and Daei
Messi now has 90 goals for Argentina in 164 appearances. He is only behind Cristiano Ronaldo (117) and Ali Daei (109) in terms of international goals. Messi, who has scored 10 goals for Argentina in 2022, had earlier surpassed the legendary Ferenc Puskas (84 goals). Messi is one of the three players to have scored 80-plus goals.
3-0
Argentina hammer Jamaica
Argentina dominated the match with 17 attempts in total. They also registered eight shots on target. Argentina had 67% ball possession, clocking a total of 681 passes. Manchester City striker Julian Alvarez put his side in front after being set up by Lautaro Martinez. Messi came on after 56 minutes before scoring twice, including a free-kick.
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35 games unbeaten run for Argentina
Argentina are now unbeaten in 35 games in all competitions. Argentina have not lost a game since July 2019. As per Squawka, Argentina are two games away from matching Italy's world record unbeaten streak of 37 games.