In the year of the World Cup, Lionel Messi continues to raise the expectations of all Argentinians. The '10' scored a brace in Argentina's 3-0 victory over Honduras, one of those great goals.
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Lionel Messi thus reached 88 goals with the Argentine national team. Since 2016, when he surpassed Gabriel Omar Batistuta (54 goals), he continues to make a difference as the top scorer for the Albiceleste.
The breakdown of his goal production is 48 goals from open play, 24 from penalties, 8 from free kicks, 6 with his right foot, and 2 with his head, according to the newspaper "Olé". In addition, 41 were scored in friendly matches, 28 in qualifiers, 13 in Copa America, and 6 in World Cups.
With his 88 goals, Messi's reign is far from being even approached. In Argentina, active players who are in the historical scoring ranking are far behind. Gonzalo Higuaín has 32, but is no longer called up, while Ángel di María has only 25. They are the only ones still playing who appear in the top ten.
His current situation heading to the World Cup
Messi scored first from the penalty spot against Honduras. Then, in the 69th minute, he showed off his exceptional left foot. A poorly played ball back by the Honduran defense ended up at Messi's feet. Leo, with a single touch, beautifully chipped the ball from outside the box. What a goal.
This has been a great year for Lionel Messi, not only with his national team, but he has also found his form again with PSG at the start of this new season. With the Albiceleste, he has 8 goals and two assists in five matches, considering that one of them was the Finalissima against Italy, in the clash between the Copa America and Eurocopa champions.
Meanwhile, if we add up his production with PSG, he already has 18 goals and 20 assists in just 34 matches. If we only look at the second half of the year onwards, when he regained his form with the French team, he has 8 goals and 8 assists in just twelve matches.
Leo has regained his scoring touch, making dreams of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Anything can happen with an inspired Messi.
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Ver noticia en El Comercio: DT