Argentina played their final home match ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup this Tuesday. They cruised to a 5-0 win over Zambia in Buenos Aires, with a goal from Lionel Messi. The forward reached a remarkable international milestone, but it still isn’t enough to surpass Cristiano Ronaldo.
In the 43rd minute of the first half, Messi pounced on a rebound inside the box and, from a very tight angle, fired a left-footed shot to make it 2-0 for Argentina. That goal was his 116th at international level in 198 appearances, and his first of 2026.
Messi has now scored in 21 consecutive years for Argentina, placing him second on the all-time list in this category. The top spot, unsurprisingly, belongs to Cristiano Ronaldo, who has scored in 22 straight years for Portugal.
In that ranking led by Cristiano Ronaldo (22) and followed by Lionel Messi (21), other stars have also left their mark. The top three is rounded out by Edin Dzeko, who has scored in 20 consecutive years for Bosnia and Herzegovina between 2007 and 2026. Further down the list are Ireland’s Robbie Keane (19) and Poland’s Robert Lewandowski (19).
Lionel Messi of Argentina greets Thiago Almada during the international friendly match against Zambia.
Messi’s numbers with Argentina
Messi made his senior national team debut on August 17, 2005, in a friendly against Hungary, where he was sent off just one minute after coming on. He failed to score in his six appearances that year, so his first international goal came in March 2006, in a friendly against Croatia.
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Since then, there hasn’t been a single year in which Messi has failed to score for Argentina, whether in friendlies or official competitions. His best year came in 2022, when he scored 18 goals — including seven at the World Cup in Qatar — followed by 2012, when he netted 12.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s numbers with Portugal
As impressive as Lionel Messi’s numbers with Argentina are, they still fall short of Cristiano Ronaldo’s production with Portugal. He has scored 143 goals in 226 appearances for his national team and has done so across 22 consecutive years.
After making his international debut in 2003 in a friendly against Kazakhstan, CR7 scored his first goal the following year at UEFA Euro 2004 against Greece. From that point on, he began a streak that has, for now, extended through 2025. He has yet to play internationally this year, but will have the chance to extend that run in the coming months.
Cristiano Ronaldo’s most prolific year with the Portugal national team came in 2019, when he scored 14 goals. Most of them came in European qualifiers and the UEFA Nations League, a competition Portugal went on to win.
