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The soccer star Lionel Messi reached 800 official goals this Thursday in his career by scoring in Argentina's 2-0 victory over Panama, in a friendly match in Buenos Aires as part of the celebrations for the World Cup that La Albiceleste won in Qatar-2022.
With about 83,000 spectators at the Monumental stadium, the three-time world champion celebrated with a party the first match of the world champions on Argentine soil, a little over three months after the penalty shootout victory over France in Lusail.
The goals were scored by Thiago Almada (77) and Lionel Messi (88), who thus reached 800 goals in his career.
The friendly against Panama represented a popular celebration that served as recognition for the world champion team and a continuation of the historic reception for the players, with 5 million people in the streets of Buenos Aires at the end of December.
For this match, the tickets sold out in just over two hours, with nearly 2 million registered people trying to get one of the 83,000 seats in a packed Monumental stadium, to the point that the eagerness to see the champions made the stands full several hours before the start of the match.
The 800th goal of Lionel Andrés Messi. March 24, 2023
During the wait, the fans were able to see several musical bands, who performed songs related to the champion team and the soccer star Lionel Messi, worshipped at all times since his arrival in Argentina for these more festive than competitive matches.
The celebration of the Argentine national team for the third world championship in its history will continue next Tuesday, with a friendly match against Curacao, to be played in Santiago del Estero (north).