Lionel Messi scored the opening goal in Argentina’s 3-0 World Cup qualifying win over Uruguay, making him the first South American player to achieve 80 goals in men’s international football. The AFA awarded Messi with a plaque for his milestone achievement, despite the fact that he has yet to find his feet at Paris Saint-Germain following a seismic summer transfer. They were clearly anticipating it to arrive sooner rather than later and had prepared for it. When a ball into the penalty area targeted at Nicolas Gonzalez escaped everyone and nestled in the bottom corner of the goal, the 34-year-old handed Argentina the lead over their neighbors.
In the final minutes of the first half, Rodrigo de Paul increased Argentina’s lead, and Messi later played a key role in the build-up for Lautaro Martinez to make it 3-0. Messi set a new record for the most goals scored by a South American in men’s football when he scored his 78th international goal as part of a hat-trick against Bolivia last month, surpassing Pele’s previous mark of 77. No other South American player has scored more than 70 goals, with Neymar on 69 and Luis Suarez on 64, respectively, while Ronaldo retired with 62 for Brazil.
After making his senior international debut in 2005, when he was memorably sent off minutes after coming off the bench in a friendly against Hungary, Messi scored his first Argentina goal the following year in a 3-2 defeat against Switzerland. He scored his first World Cup goal against Serbia and Montenegro in 2006, and he also scored his first international hat-trick against Switzerland in 2012.
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