From La Paz to the farthest edges of Argentina’s international calendar, Lionel Messi’s scoring record for the Albiceleste has become a map of a career spanning more than two decades. His final tally stands at 126 goals against 46 different national teams, with Bolivia the side most repeatedly punished by Argentina’s captain.
Messi struck 11 times against Bolivia, placing them well clear of Ecuador and Venezuela, who each conceded seven goals to him. Uruguay were next on six. Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Algeria, Guatemala and Estonia each allowed five, although Estonia’s entry is unlike any other: all five came in Argentina’s 5-0 win in June 2022.
A global list of opponents
The record reaches beyond South America and includes many of the game’s established powers. Mexico conceded four Messi goals, while Colombia, Croatia, Curaçao, France, Haiti, Nigeria, Peru and Switzerland each saw him score three times.
Australia, Austria, Honduras, Hong Kong, Jamaica, Nicaragua and Spain were beaten twice by Messi. He also registered single goals against opponents including Germany, Portugal, the Netherlands, the United States, Saudi Arabia and Japan during his international career.
His first Argentina goal came against Croatia in 2006. The final opponent of his international career was Benin, completing a scoring collection built across meetings with world champions, South American neighbours and teams encountered only once.
The sides that kept him quiet
Even with 126 goals, Messi did not score against every country he faced. Of the 63 national teams he played against, 18 avoided conceding to him. Italy, England, Belgium, Poland, Sweden, Greece, Romania, Japan and South Korea are among those sides.
Qatar occupy a particular place in that group, as the only team Messi faced twice without finding the net. The numbers underline the breadth of his Argentina journey: an extraordinary list of goals, but also a handful of opponents who emerged untouched from their meetings with him.
