After days of speculation, Lionel Messi returned to Argentina‘s starting lineup to face Peru in Lima on Matchday 4 of the South American 2026 World Cup Qualifiers. Unsurprisingly, he put on a show at Estadio Nacional and broke yet another record.
Thanks to his brace against La Blanquirroja, Messi surpassed Luis Suarez as the all-time leading scorer in Conmebol World Cup Qualifying history. The 36-year-old reached 31 goals in the tournament, whereas the Uruguayan striker — who was overlooked by Marcelo Bielsa in the current campaign — still boasts 29.
Even though he struggled with muscle fatigue in recent weeks, it took only 32 minutes for the seven-time Ballon d’Or winner to find the net for his country in a fantastic team play.
Watch: Messi’s brace against Peru
La Albiceleste were under pressure at some point in the first half, but they capitalized on the hosts’ aggressive mindset to hit back with a ruthless counterattack. As usual, Messi finished it off in style. Messi combined with Julian Alvarez after Argentina recovered the ball in their own half and the Man City star passed the ball to Enzo Fernandez in the middle of the park.
The Chelsea midfielder eventually found Nicolas Gonzalez, who found Messi on the box. Of course, the 36-year-old put the ball in the back of the net with a beautiful strike.
Only 10 minutes later, Messi once again proved to be ruthless in the box as he sent home another great effort following an assist by Enzo Fernandez. As he celebrated the goal, the stadium chanted his name.
Messi sets more records in fantastic night in Peru
MisterChip (@2010MisterChip on X) also notes that this the first time Messi scores against Peru in a World Cup Qualifier. By doing so, he became the first Argentine player who found the net against eight different teams in a World Cup Qualifying — Brazil are the only remaining nation.
Besides, Estadio Nacional is the 13th different stadium he has scored at in the Conmebol tournament, which is also a record. On top of that, the former Barcelona star joined Alexis Sanchez of Chile and Joaquin Botero of Bolivia as the players with most braces in the Conmebol World Cup Qualifiers history with five.
In addition, Messi overtook Robert Lewandowski as the fourth player with the most World Cup Qualifying goals on the entire planet:
- Carlos Ruiz (Guatemala) – 39 goals
- Cristiano Ronaldo (Portugal) – 36 goals
- Ali Daei (Iran) – 35 goals
- Messi (Argentina) – 31 goals
- Lewandowski (Poland) – 30 goals
Argentina’s win over Peru sees Lionel Messi and company atop the Conmebol 2026 World Cup Qualifiers standings with 12 points, five clear of Uruguay, Brazil, and Venezuela.
