Messi vs Ronaldo: Decoding their international career in numbers
Football superstars Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo have continued to make their presence felt for Argentina and Portugal respectively. Messi played a key role in Argentina's win over Italy in La Finalissima before scoring five against Estonia. Ronaldo delivered the goods versus Switzerland in a crucial UEFA Nations League match. Here we decode their international career in numbers.
Messi nets five goals versus Estonia, surpasses Puskas
Messi netted all five of Argentina's goals in a friendly game versus Estonia in Spain. Messi was in vintage form and for the first time the 34-year-old managed to score five in a game for his country. Messi now has 86 goals in 162 appearances for Argentina. He went past the tally of Ferenc Puskas, who netted 84 for Hungary.
Why does this story matter?
Despite the two players being in the twilight of their careers, there are no signs yet of slowing down. We might see both continuing to play for a couple of years more both at club level and international. Messi has gone on to become the fourth-highest scorer in international level. Meanwhile, Ronaldo has extended his tally at the top.
Ronaldo has raced to 117 goals
Portugal hammered Switzerland 4-0 and Ronaldo impressed by scoring a brace to help his side go on top of League A Group 2. By scoring a brace, the Portuguese has raced to 117 international goals. Last year, the Manchester United forward went past Ali Daei to become the leading scorer in international men's football. Daei had managed 109 goals in his career for Iran.
Records held by Messi in international football
Messi has the record for most major tournament Best Player awards in history: 3 (World Cup 2014, Copa America 2015, Copa America 2021). He also has the record for most Man of the Match awards at a single World Cup campaign - 4 in 2014. He has the most Man of the Match awards at a single Copa America - 4 in 2021.
Ronaldo has scored against 46 different teams
Messi's three favorite opponents in international football have been Bolivia (8), Ecuador, and Uruguay (6 each). Ronaldo has netted nine goals against Luxembourg. He has seven goals each against Lithuania and Sweden. Ronaldo has scored against 46 different international opponents. Paris Saint-Germain forward Messi has done so against 30 teams.
Decoding their scoring record in international football
Ronaldo has bagged seven goals at the FIFA World Cup compared to Messi's six. Ronaldo also has 36 goals in World Cup qualifiers. Messi has 28 in this regard. Ronaldo has 31 goals in European qualifiers and a further 20 in friendlies. He has scored twice at the FIFA Confederations Cup. Messi has 39 goals in friendlies and 13 at the Copa America.
European Championships: Ronaldo is the top scorer
Ronaldo has bagged the most goals at the European Championships (14). He has participated in the Euros since 2004 and scored in every edition. He was the joint-top scorer in 2012 (3) and 2020 (5).
Two international trophies each for the two players
Ronaldo has won two international trophies. He helped his side win the Euro 2016 title and the inaugural edition of the UEFA Nations League. Meanwhile, Messi bagged his first international title last year (Copa America) and the second arrived with La Finalissima recently.
