The friendly match this Tuesday against the Spanish national team at the Wanda Metropolitano stadium offers Javier Mascherano the opportunity to play his 142nd game with the Argentine team and equal the record of his compatriot Javier Zanetti, who currently holds the record alone.
The former Barcelona and Liverpool player, now playing for the Chinese team Hebei Fortune, will equal Javier Zanetti if coach Jorge Sampaoli gives him some minutes in the match against the Spanish squad, as a preparation for the World Cup in Russia next summer.
Javier Mascherano made his debut with the Argentine national team on July 16, 2003, before playing his first game with the River Plate first team. In the following fifteen years, El Jefecito managed to secure a place in the starting eleven.
In his career with the Argentine national team, he has won two Olympic gold medals (Athens 2004 and Beijing 2008), a World Cup silver medal (Brazil 2014), and four runner-up positions in the Copa America (2004, 2007, 2015, and 2016).