After Argentina's 4-1 win against Bolivia on Tuesday, Lionel Messi has now become the most capped player in Argentina's history after making his 148th appearance. The Barcelona man matched Javier Mascherano's record last week and made it his own with in an impressive win against Bolivia by racking up two goals and an assist to keep his team on top of Group A in the Copa America.
Along with his newly acquired record, it was also the first time in 17 games that the 34-year-old had scored twice in a single game for his country. Messi also took his international tally to 75 goals which move him ahead of Indian legend Sunil Chhetri into ninth on the all-time scoring charts for men's football that is currently led by the 109 goals of both Cristiano Ronaldo and former Iran striker Ali Daei.
The Argentinian will also be able to set another record before the end of the tournament should Argentina reach either the final or the third-place play-off (assuming Messi plays in every game), he would tie the record for most appearances in Copa America's history.
Going back to his debut in 2005 when he was sent off after being on the pitch for only 43 seconds, Argentina has not won any major tournament since lifting the Copa America in 1993. Although Messi has won every major honour in both club and individual available to him at Barcelona, he has not yet found any success in the famous blue and white shirt.
"I've been lucky enough to win everything at club level and individual level and it would be lovely also to win something with the national side, that’s my dream.”
- The 34-year-old stated on prior to this year's Copa America
The little magician has now appeared in three Copa America finals, as well as the 2014 World Cup final, all of which Argentina lost. However, the current Argentina squad are in excellent form going into the last eight of the Copa America and are undefeated since 2019.
Will Lionel Messi finally be able to capture international success in this year's Copa America or will he come out empty-handed once again?
