Most goals in international football: Messi ends Argentina career as second highest scorer

Messi scored a penalty in his final appearance for Argentina on Tuesday night. (AP Photo)

Lionel Messi brought the curtains down on his sensational 21-year Argentina career on Tuesday night in Buenos Aires during a 3-0 win over Benin. And in customary Messi fashion, the Argentina talisman did not miss the scoresheet, having secured an assist and converted a penalty to lead a breezy win for the 2026 World Cup runners-up.

Messi played his first game on August 17, 2005, an infamous debut that lasted only 90 seconds after he copped a red card against Hungary.

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The 39-year-old ended his career with 126 goals in 207 appearances for the Albiceleste, the second-highest among all men, only behind Cristiano Ronaldo (146).

Messi leaves the international stage as the most decorated figure in Argentine football history. His 66 assists, increased by one during his final game, is an all-time record in international football. His roll of honours includes the Beijing 2008 Olympic gold medal, the FIFA World Cup 2022 title, back-to-back Copa America trophies in 2021 and 2024, and the 2022 Finalissima. He appeared in a record-tying six World Cups alongside Ronaldo.

At the 2026 edition where Argentina finished runners-up, Messi produced one of his best World Cup campaigns, smashing 8 goals and 4 assists. He finished with 21 goals in his career, the second-highest of all time at the showpiece event, behind Kylian Mbappe.

Most international football goals

Rank	Player	Nation	Goals	Caps	Goals per match	Career span
1	Cristiano Ronaldo	Portugal	146	234	0.62	2003–
2	Lionel Messi	Argentina	126	207	0.6	2005–2026
3	Ali Daei	Iran	108	148	0.73	1993–2006
4	Sunil Chhetri	India	95	157	0.61	2005–2025
5	Romelu Lukaku	Belgium	94	135	0.7	2010–
6	Robert Lewandowski	Poland	92	170	0.54	2008–
7	Harry Kane	England	91	125	0.73	2015–
8	Mokhtar Dahari	Malaysia	89	142	0.63	1972–1985
9	Ali Mabkhout	United Arab Emirates	85	115	0.74	2009–2024
10	Ferenc Puskás	Hungary Spain	84	89	0.94	1945–1962

First goal: Messi scored the first of his 125 international goals, which came against Croatia in a friendly.

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First hat-trick: His first international hat-trick came against Switzerland in 2012. He has since racked up 10 more, edging out Cristiano Ronaldo for the most hat-tricks.