Lionel Messi added yet another accolade to his legendary career on Tuesday when he became the all-time leading goalscorer in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying during Argentina’s 2-0 win over Peru.
Messi scored a first-half brace for his side in his first start for club or country since September 20 and surpassed his former Barcelona teammate Luis Suarez of Uruguay for the honor. For the first goal, Enzo Fernandez sent the ball to Nicolas Gonzalez on the edge of the penalty area, who then smartly cut back to Messi, who wasted no time taking a shot. His powerful first-time strike cruised into the back of the net in the 32nd minute.
He scored a second just 10 minutes later. Fernandez made a run towards goal and cut it back to Julian Alvarez, who at first appeared ready to take the shot, only to dummy it to Messi. The captain then took another forceful shot from the edge of the penalty area to double the lead.
The star now has 31 goals during World Cup qualifying, two more than Suarez’s 29. Three of those goals have come during Argentina’s campaign to qualify for the 2026 World Cup and the team has been in fine form throughout. The reigning World Cup winners have won the first four games of their qualifying campaign and have yet to concede a goal, even without Messi in the team at times.
Messi started and scored in the opening qualifier against Ecuador on September 7, but he missed a 3-0 win over Bolivia five days later with fatigue. He rejoined last Thursday and played 37 minutes in Argentina’s win over Paraguay but started for the first time in nearly a month on Tuesday against the Peruvians.