Lionel Messi‘s legacy, which marked a before-and-after for Argentina, will come to an end following the international friendly against Benin. The match promises to be emotional due to its significance, serving as the final international appearance for one of the greatest players in history while also leaving open the possibility of a new heir to the No. 10 jersey.
Messi retires as Argentina’s all-time leading goalscorer, boasting 125 goals against 45 different national teams across five confederations. His tally stretches from his first goal against Croatia in March 2006 to his most recent against Egypt in the round of 16 at the 2026 World Cup. Benin, Tuesday’s opponent at the Monumental, represent a final opportunity to expand that list—if he scores, the African side will become his 46th victim.
Of those 45 teams, the ones that conceded the most goals to Messi are led by Bolivia with 11, followed by Ecuador and Venezuela with seven each, and Uruguay with six. That concentration makes sense given that they belong to CONMEBOL and share World Cup Qualifiers, Copa America tournaments, and friendly matches.
Bolivia tops list of 45 opponents
No country has conceded more goals to Messi than Bolivia. They have surrendered 11 goals, accounting for nearly 9% of his entire international total. Furthermore, Bolivia are the only opponent against whom he reached double digits.
Lionel Messi with the World Cup trophy and Golden Ball award after the Qatar 2022 final.
The South American concentration is logical given Argentina’s schedule: 52 of his 125 goals, or 41.6%, came against CONMEBOL teams—Bolivia, Ecuador, Venezuela, Uruguay, Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Colombia, and Peru. The non-CONMEBOL teams that have conceded the most goals to Messi are Estonia (all in a single match), Algeria, and Guatemala.
Messi scored against all five Confederations he faced
While CONMEBOL dominates in total goals, UEFA provided the widest variety of opponents. Messi scored 26 times against 14 different European national teams. Against CONCACAF, he scored 27 goals against 10 countries, while African sides conceded 12 goals across six representatives, and Asian teams yielded eight goals across six opponents. The only confederation absent from the list is Oceania, as he never faced a team from that region.
Of all his international goals, some are undeniably more memorable than others. One with the deepest meaning is the one that started it all: Croatia were the first country added to the list. On March 1, 2006, in his sixth match with the senior national team, he scored his first international goal in a 3-2 defeat for Argentina.
Three months later came Serbia and Montenegro. Messi came off the bench at the 2006 World Cup and scored the final goal in a 6-0 victory at 18 years and 357 days old, becoming the youngest Argentine goalscorer in World Cup history.
Key takeaways
- 125 goals were scored by Lionel Messi across 45 different national teams.
- 11 goals were conceded by Bolivia to top all international opponents.
- 26 goals were scored across 14 European national teams.
