Argentina thrashed Estonia 5-0 in a friendly game played on Sunday. Surprisingly, all the 5 goals were scored by Lionel Messi. In the process, he became the fourth-highest goal scorer for a national team in men’s soccer. The Argentine striker scored his country’s 86th goal. He surpassed Ferenc Puskas, who led Hungary with 84 goals.
Messi netted two goals in the first half, including a penalty kick and 3 goals after the half-time. Lionel Messi has joined the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo, Ali Dei, and Mokhtar Dahari for most goals for their country. Ronaldo has 117 goals followed by Ali with 109, Dahari with 89 and Messi with 86 goals.
Speaking after the game, Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said: “I don’t know what else to say about Messi, I have no words left to describe it. It is something unique, it is a pleasure to have it, it is a pleasure to train it. He is a heritage of world football, the day he doesn’t play anymore we will miss him.”
Messi is, the first player to score 5 goals at the club as well as at international level
Messi had never scored five goals for Argentina in an international match before this game. However, there has been one similar instance in 2012, UEFA Champions League. Messi had scored five goals as Barcelona defeated Bayer Leverkusen 7-1. He became the first South American player to amass 80 international goals in October 2021. In World Cup Qualifiers, he accomplished the milestone in Argentina’s 3-0 triumph over Uruguay. After the game, Messi was given a CONMEBOL honour for writing history. He had previously broken Pele’s record for most goals scored by a South American player (77).
Argentina crushed Italy 3-0 in the first Finalissima encounter between the South American and European champions the previous week, with Lionel Messi providing two assists. He assisted Argentina to win the Copa América last year, which was his first big trophy with the national team. Argentina hasn’t lost in their last 33 games.