At age 35, the Argentine magnifico keeps making headlines in the world of football. Lionel Messi international goals are now 102, making him the player with the most goals in Argentina history.
Of course, his 37-minute hat-trick against Curaçao allowed him to reach another milestone, even though it was just an international friendly.
At the moment, Messi (102) is now 7 goals behind Ali Daei (109) and 20 goals behind Cristiano Ronaldo (122).
It doesn’t look like the Argentine captain will retire anytime soon, he’s expected to be available for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
As a result, he’s most likely to take over the former Manchester United star’s record as the top international goal-scorer of all time.
Argentina’s national men’s team all-time goal-scorers
- Lionel Messi – 100
- Gabriel Batistuta – 54
- Sergio Agüero – 42
- Hernan Crespo – 35
- Diego Maradona – 34
- Gonzalo Higuain – 31
- Angel Di Maria – 28
For the record, Lionel is now the first player to ever win the FIFA World Cup and score 100+ international goals.
Also, he became the first South American player to register 100+ international goals, having been an Argentine.
As regards La Albiceleste’s 7-0 victory over Curaçao, making it Messi’s joint biggest win for Argentina.
They won 7-0 over Bolivia in 2015 and Hong Kong in 2014. The seventh Ballon D’or winner keeps making waves at all levels.
Lionel Messi now has the most goal contributions (57) in the 2022-2023 season, 35 goals and 22 assists for club and country.
Recently, the Argentine wizard was honored with the ‘Baton of Football’ by the president of Conmebol during a tribute to the team.
CONMEBOL have now unveiled Messi’s statue in their headquarters, which is based in Asuncion, Paraguay.
The Parisian player-maker’s statue is next to Pele and Diego Maradona. The player keeps ruling South America.
Lionel would have registered four goals against Curaçao in their international friendly. However, he decided to give Angel Di Maria a penalty.
None of his 37-minute hat-trick on Wednesday included a penalty. It was a result of his massive playmaking prowess.
The former Barcelona captain has scored 21 goals and registered 7 assists in his previous 14 goals for his national team.
That’s why Lionel Messi international goals of 102 is indeed a massive achievement for the 2022 FIFA World Cup champion.
Lionel Messi stats for Argentina
174 matches
102 goals
54 assists
2 World Cup Golden Balls
2 Copa America Best Player
1 FIFA World Cup
1 Copa America
1 Copa America Golden Boot
1 Finalissima
1 Finalissima MVP
- Most goals in major tournaments (26)
- Most assists in major tournaments (25)
- Most goal contributions in the international knockout stages (28)
- Most goal contributions in the World Cup knockout stages (11)
- Most goal contributions in the FIFA World Cup (21)
- Most goal contributions in Copa America (30)
- FIFA World Cup final MOTM
- Brace in FIFA World Cup final
Despite the fact that the seventh Ballon D’or winner is behind Cristiano Ronaldo at international level.
He’s in a league of his own, talking about FIFA World Cup tournaments, Copa America, and others.
Lionel Messi 102 international goals by competition
FIFA World Cup
26 appearances
13 goals
FIFA World Cup Qualifiers
60 games
28 goals
Copa America
34 matches
13 goals
Friendlies
53 appearances
48 goals
Lionel Messi 102 international goals breakdown
174 appearances
0.59 goals per game
142 minutes per goal10 right foot
90 left foot
2 headers55 inside the box (open play)
13 outside the box (open play)
24 penalties
10 free-kicks
9 hat-tricks
102 goals breakdown by date, competitions and opponents
March 1st, 2006
Friendly
Vs Croatia
1 goal
June 16th, 2006
2006 FIFA World Cup
Vs Serbia and Montenegro
1 goal
June 5th, 2007
Friendly
Vs Algeria
2 goals
July 8th, 2007
2007 Copa America
Vs Peru
1 goal
July 11th, 2007
2007 Copa America
Vs Mexico
1 goal
October 16th, 2007
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Venezuela
1 goal
November 20th, 2007
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Colombia
1 goal
June 4th, 2008
Friendly
Vs Mexico
1 goal
October 11th, 2008
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Uruguay
1 goal
February 11th, 2009
Friendly
Vs France
1 goal
March 28th, 2009
2010 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Venezuela
1 goal
November 14th, 2009
Friendly
Vs Spain
1 goal
September 7th, 2010
Friendly
Vs Spain
1 goal
November 17th, 2010
Friendly
Vs Brazil
1 goal
February 9th, 2011
Friendly
Vs Portugal
1 goal
June 20th, 2011
Friendly
Vs Albania
1 goal
October 7th, 2011
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Chile
1 goal
November 15th, 2011
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Colombia
1 goal
February 29th, 2012
Friendly
Vs Switzerland
3 goals
June 2nd, 2012
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Ecuador
1 goal
June 9th, 2012
Friendly
Vs Brazil
3 goals
August 15th, 2012
Friendly
Vs Germany
1 goal
September 7th, 2012
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Paraguay
1 goal
October 12th, 2012
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
Uruguay
2 goals
October 16th, 2012
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Chile
1 goal
March 22nd, 2013
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Venezuela
1 goal
June 14th, 2013
Friendly
Vs Guatemala
3 goals
September 10th, 2013
2014 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Paraguay
2 goals
June 7th, 2014
Friendly
Vs Slovenia
1 goal
June 15th, 2014
2014 FIFA World Cup
Vs Bosnia and Herzegovina
1 goal
June 21st, 2014
2014 FIFA World Cup
Vs Iran
1 goal
June 25th, 2014
2014 FIFA World Cup
Vs Nigeria
2 goals
October 14th, 2014
Friendly
Vs Hong Kong
2 goals
November 12th, 2014
Friendly
Vs Croatia
1 goal
June 13th, 2015
2015 Copa America
Vs Paraguay
1 goal
September 4th, 2015
Friendly
Vs Bolivia
2 goals
September 8th, 2015
Friendly
Vs Mexico
1 goal
March 29th, 2016
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Bolivia
1 goal
June 10th, 2016
Copa America Centenario
Vs Panama
3 goals
June 18th, 2016
Copa America Centenario
Vs Venezuela
1 goal
June 21st, 2016
Copa America Centenario
Vs United States
1 goal
September 1st, 2016
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Uruguay
1 goal
November 15th, 2016
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Colombia
1 goal
March 23rd, 2017
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Chile
1 goal
October 10th, 2017
2018 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Ecuador
3 goals
May 18th, 2018
Friendly
Vs Haiti
3 goals
June 26th, 2018
2018 FIFA World Cup
Vs Nigeria
1 goal
June 7th, 2019
Friendly
Vs Nicaragua
2 goals
June 19th, 2019
2019 Copa America
Vs Paraguay
1 goal
November 15th, 2019
2019 Superclasico de las Americas
Vs Brazil
1 goal
November 18th, 2019
Friendly
Vs Uruguay
1 goal
October 8th, 2010
2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Ecuador
1 goal
June 3rd, 2021
2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Chile
1 goal
June 14th, 2021
2021 Copa America
Vs Chile
1 goal
June 28th, 2021
2021 Copa America
Vs Bolivia
2 goals
July 3rd, 2021
2021 Copa America
Vs Ecuador
1 goal
September 9th, 2021
2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Bolivia
3 goals
October 10th, 2021
2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Uruguay
1 goal
March 25th, 2022
2022 FIFA World Cup qualification
Vs Venezuela
1 goal
June 5th, 2022
Friendly
Vs Estonia
5 goals
September 23rd, 2022
Friendly
Vs Honduras
2 goals
September 27th, 2022
Friendly
Vs Jamaica
2 goals
November 6th, 2022
Friendly
Vs United Arab Emirates
1 goal
November 22nd, 2022
2022 FIFA World Cup
Vs Saudi Arabia
1 goal
November 26th, 2022
2022 FIFA World Cup
Vs Mexico
1 goal
December 3rd, 2022
2022 FIFA World Cup
Vs Australia
1 goal
December 9th, 2022
2022 FIFA World Cup
Vs Netherlands
1 goal
December 13th, 2022
2022 FIFA World Cup
Vs Croatia
1 goal
December 18th, 2022
2022 FIFA World Cup final
Vs France
2 goals
March 23rd, 2023
Friendly
Vs Panama
1 goal
March 28th, 2023
Friendly
Vs Curaçao
3 goals
Lionel Messi 102 international goals by favorite opponents
Bolivia – 8
Ecuador – 6
Uruguay – 6
Brazil – 5
Chile – 5
Estonia – 5
Paraguay – 5
Venezuela -5
Mexico -4
Panama – 4
Colombia – 3
Croatia – 3
Curaçao – 3
France – 3
Guatemala – 3
Haiti – 3
Nigeria – 3
Switzerland – 3
[…] Lionel Messi international goals: Breakdown of the 102 goals […]