Every Argentina record Lionel Messi broke or equalled as World Cup winner retires from international football

Lionel Messi called time onone of the most remarkable international careersby any player in the history fo football in the early hours of Wednesday. The Argentina legend took part in one final match for his country, signing off with a goal and two assists ina 3-0 victory against Benin.

Messi's journey with Argentina was not always easy, with the Inter Miami star having initially announced his retirement from the national team in 2016 following a loss against Chile in the Copa America final. That was the then-29-year-old's fourth major final defeat, following the 2007 Copa America final, the 2014 World Cup final and another Copa America loss in 2015.

The playmaker quickly reversed his decision, and that proved to be an inspired choice given he won the 2021 Copa America, then the 2022 World Cup and finally the 2024 Copa America. En route to those successes, the 39-year-old broke countless records, and here, Sports Mole lists every record he has either equalled or broken for Argentina.

His 35th appearance at Copa America 2024 also broke Chile's Sergio Livingstone's all-time Copa America record (34) 39appearances Most Copa America assists (all-time)CA All-time Copa America record across all nations; includes a tournament-best 5 assists in 2021 18assists Most Copa America direct free-kick goalsCA 4free kicks Most CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying goalsQL Also the all-time CONMEBOL record across all nations; nearly doubled Crespo's previous Argentina mark of 19 36goals Most CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying appearancesQL 72appearances Most goals in a single CONMEBOL qualifying campaignQL 10 goals across the 2014 World Cup qualifying campaign 10goals (2014 WC qual. ) Most CONMEBOL qualifying hat-tricksQL 3hat-tricks Lionel Messi: Greater than Diego Maradona for Argentina?

Messi not only holds the record for most appearances for Argentina (208), but he also has scored the most goals (126) and registered the most assists (67). Those figures are unlikely to ever be broken, and it is understandable that many now believe that the 39-year-old has surpassed the legacy of Diego Maradona.

It would be unfair to compare the two players directly, but given that Messi overcame the longstanding criticism of his international career by winning the 2022 World Cup and guiding his country to the 2014 and 2026 finals, there is very little room for downplaying his achievements. Messi is also the oldest ever player to score a hat-trick at the World Cup, the highest scorer in World Cup history and is the only player to ever start three World Cup finals.

Regardless of how individual Argentinians rank their nation's greatest ever players, there is no doubt that Messi has left behind an incredible legacy, one that will stand the test of time.