All eyes will be on Lionel Messi when Argentina take on Venezuela at the Olympic Stadium in Caracas in the early hours of Friday in continuation of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers.
Lionel Messi prepares for a corner kick during their Conmebol 2021 Copa America football tournament semi-final match against Colombia, at the Mane Garrincha Stadium in Brasilia, Brazil, on July 6, 2021. (Photo by NELSON ALMEIDA / AFP) (Photo by NELSON ALMEIDA/AFP via Getty Images)
The 34year old, currently on 76 international goals in one away from equalling Pele’s record of 77 goals, which is the record for most international goals by a CONMEBOL player.
The Argentine captain averages a 0.5 goal per game for the National Team since making his senior debut in 2005 against Hungary in a friendly at the Ferenc Puskás Stadium when he came on in the 63rd minute.
His first goal however did not come until 2006, when he found the back of the net against Croatia, in what was his sixth cap for La Albiceleste.
Messi surpassed Gabriel Batistuta’s record of 54 goals with a free kick against the United States Men National Team in the semi-finals of the Copa América Centenario on 21 June 2016, to become Argentina’s all time top scorer.
His target will now be equalling and overtaking Pele, in the next few games as Argentina continue their world cup qualifying campaign, playing against Venezuela, Brazil and Bolivia in the current international break.
The match against Venezuela will be Argentina’s first game since winning the Copa America title in Brazil back in July. Messi and Argentina will be looking to build on their latest success as they continue their quest for place in the next World Cup in Qatar.
Afolabi Kehinde Hassan
