From his debut against Hungary in 2005 to his final match in an Argentina jersey, “Pulga” built a legacy that will be hard to surpass. The iconic No. 10 concluded his tenure with the “Albiceleste” as the player with the most appearances and as the all-time leading scorer.
Messi played 208 matches for the Argentine national team, 186 of them as a starter—a figure that places him far ahead of any other Argentine soccer player. Javier Mascherano is second, with 147 appearances.
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He is also, of course, the all-time leading scorer. He has scored 126 goals for the Argentine national team, more than double the total of Gabriel Batistuta, who ranks second on the list with 54.
Of those 126 goals, 55 were scored in friendly matches, 36 in South American World Cup qualifiers, 21 in World Cups, and 14 in the Copa América.
As for titles, at the highest level, he won the Copa América in 2021 and 2024, the Finalissima in 2022, and the World Cup in Qatar in 2022. To these, we must add the 2005 U-20 World Cup and the gold medal at the 2008 Beijing Olympics.
Finally, Lionel Messi, with 34 matches, is the player who has played the most games in World Cup history, ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo, who finished with 27. In addition, he has scored 21 goals and ranks second on the list of all-time leading scorers, one spot behind Kylian Mbappé.
In the Copa América, he has 39 appearances, an all-time record, while in the South American World Cup qualifiers, he is the all-time leading scorer with 36 goals and shares the record for most appearances, 72, with Iván Hurtado of Ecuador.
*photo source: AP
