'GOAT' Lionel Messi signs off for Argentina: Decoding his stats
What's the story
Lionel Messi said he was "grateful, proud and at peace" after ending his illustrious international career with Argentina. The 39-year-old scored a penalty and assisted twice in a comfortable 3-0 friendly win over Benin on October 7. It was Messi's first game for Argentina since announcing his retirement in August and the death of his father, Jorge, aged 68 after a long illness. We decode his stats in Argentina colors.
Career highlights
A look at Messi's international career
Messi made his debut for Argentina in 2005 as a substitute in a friendly against Hungary.
He was sent off less than a minute after coming on but went on to become one of the greatest players of all time.
The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner has since won a FIFA World Cup, one Finalissima and two Copa America titles with Argentina, cementing his legacy in international football history.
Numbers
Messi managed 126 goals and 67 assists for Argentina
Messi played 208 matches for Argentina and managed a total of 126 goals and 67 assists.
In 34 FIFA World Cup appearances, Messi went on to clock 21 goals and 12 assists.
Messi scored 55 goals in 62 friendly appearances for Argentina.
In 72 FIFA World Cup qualification games, he managed 36 goals.
In 39 Copa America games, he scored 14 goals.
He also played one Finalissima game.
Do you know?
Messi scored 11 hat-tricks for Argentina
Messi scored 11 hat-tricks for Argentina. His first hat-trick for Argentina was against Switzerland in 2012 as Argentina won 3-1. Messi managed 2 hat-tricks against Bolivia in 2021 and 2024. His last hat-trick was against Algeria in 2026.
Information
10-plus goals in 3 calendar years
Messi scored 10-plus goals in 3 calendar years for Argentina. He scored 12 goals from 9 matches in 2012. In 2022, he scored 18 goals for Argentina in 14 appearances. In 2026, Messi scored 11 goals from 12 games.
Key numbers
Key goal-scoring numbers for Messi in Argentina colors
Messi scored 26 goals from the penalty spot. He took 33 penalties in total.
12 of Messi's 126 goals were free-kicks. Notably, a whopping 112 of his goals came from the left foot.
12 were scored with his right foot with just 2 goals being headers.
Messi scored the most goals against Bolivia (11). He also managed 5 goals against arch-rivals Brazil.
WC
Messi's World Cup career in numbers
Messi finished his career with 21 World Cup goals. It's the 2nd-highest after France's Kylian Mbappe, who owns a total of 22 World Cup goals.
In terms of playing the most matches in World Cup history, Messi tops the list with 34.
Messi managed 12 assists at the World Cup.
Interestingly, Messi recorded the most assists in the knockout rounds (10). He also recorded an assist in 6 different World Cup campaigns.