Messi Moves Suarez To Be The Most Goalprinter Of The Conmebol World Cup Qualifiers

Argentine national team player, Lionel Messi. (Photo: Twitter @Argentina)

JAKARTA Lionel Messi officially posted himself as the all-time leading goalscorer for the Conmebol World Cup qualifiers after bringing Argentina to beat Peru.

Messi scored two winning goals and played 93 minutes against hosts Peru at the Estadio Nacional de Lima, Lima, Peru, Wednesday, October 18, 2023 morning WIB.

Messi scored for the first time since a right-foot injury with Argentina on September 7. The injury hampered him over the past six weeks with Inter Miami.

Messi scored two winning goals for Argentina in the first half, respectively in the 32nd and 42nd minutes. This is La Pulga's 106th goal at the international level with Argentina.

In addition to adding to international goals, the former Barcelona player also surpassed Luis Suarez as the top scorer for the South American zone World Cup Qualifiers (CONMEBOL).

An additional two goals against Peru made La Pulga now collect 31 CONMEBOL zone World Cup Qualification goals. He is now two goals ahead of Suarez, who has retired.

Messi before equaling his former Barcelona teammate's record when he scored his only goal against Ecuador on September 8. He then missed defending Argentina in several matches due to injury.

"We have great players and very distinctive styles of play, which we love. We want to stay on track," Messi said after the game, quoted from USA Today.

The victory over Peru made Argentina strengthen their position in the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers standings. La Albicelestes now packs 12 points from four matches.

The 2022 World Cup champion is Uruguay with seven points. Brazil and Venezuela have completed the top four with the same points collection.