Lionel Messi equalled the record for the most assists in international football in Argentina’s 1-0 win over Peru in Buenos Aires on November 19, 2024.

During their FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers clash against Peru, Lionel Messi set up Lautaro Martinez’s sensational goal to register his 58th assist for the Argentina national football team and also match the record for the most assists in international football with United States men's national team legend Landon Donovan.

Former American footballer Landon Donovan also recorded 58 assists in his illustrious international football career.

Brazil national football team talisman Neymar is second on the list for the most assists in international football. He has already accumulated 57 assists in 126 appearances. 

The likes of Ferenc Puskas (53), Sandor Kocsis (50), Kevin De Bruyne (49), Pele (47), Mesut Ozil (40), Cristiano Ronaldo (37) and David Beckham (36) feature next on the legendary list.

Know players with the most assists in international football.

Most assists in international football

Player	Team	Appearances	Assists
Landon Donovan	USA	157	58
Lionel Messi	Argentina	190	58
Neymar	Brazil	126	57
Ferenc Puskas	Hungary	85	53
Sandor Kocsis	Hungary	68	50
Kevin De Bruyne	Belgium	107	49
Pele	Brazil	92	47
Mesut Ozil	Germany	92	40
Cristiano Ronaldo	Portugal	217	37
David Beckham	England	115	36

Landon Donovan | 58 assists

Landon Donovan previously held the record for the most assists in international football. Considered to be one of the greatest American football players of all time, Landon Donovan recorded 58 assists in 157 appearances between 2000 and 2014. Interestingly, Landon Donovan also shares the record with Clint Dempsey for the most international goals scored by a male USA player (57).

Lionel Messi | 58 assists

Lionel Messi recently matched Landon Donovan’s record for the most assists in international football. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time, Lionel Messi has accumulated 58 assists in 190 appearances for La Albiceleste. Additionally, the 2022 FIFA World Cup winner also features second in the all-time top international goalscorers list behind Cristiano Ronaldo. Messi has netted 112 goals for Argentina while Ronaldo tops the list with 135 goals.

Neymar | 57 assists

Former Brazil captain Neymar features third on the list for the most assists in international football. Widely regarded as one of the best players of his generation, Neymar has amassed 57 assists in just 126 appearances for the Brazil national football team. Furthermore, Neymar is Brazil's all-time top goalscorer in international football with 79 goals, two more than legendary Pele.

Photo credit: Imago 

The Argentina national football team will host Peru in their upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers clash at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The Argentina vs Peru, FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers will start at 5:30 AM IST on Wednesday, November 20. Live streaming of the match will be available in India.

Under head coach Lionel Scaloni, Argentina will look to bounce back after suffering a 1-2 defeat against Paraguay at the Estadio Defensores del Chaco in their previous game last week.

While Lautaro Martínez gave Argentina an early lead in the 11th minute, Antonio Sanabria equalised for Paraguay eight minutes later. Paraguay rode on Omar Alderete’s match-winning goal in the second half to bag three crucial points from the game.

Despite the defeat, world champions Argentina are placed on top of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers 2026 CONMEBOL standings with 22 points from 11 matches, three points clear of Uruguay and Colombia.

On the other hand, the Peru national football team has struggled in the ongoing FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

Led by manager Jorge Fossati, Peru played out a goalless draw against Chile in their previous qualifying fixture at home.

Having registered just a solitary victory in 11 games, Peru are currently languishing ninth in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers 2026 CONMEBOL standings with seven points.

Interestingly, Peru did not qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup and their last appearance in the marquee football competition was in 2018 when they were knocked out in the group stage.

Meanwhile, Argentina will miss the services of defenders Cristian Romero and Lisandro Martinez due to injuries in the upcoming clash.

Marseille centre-back Leonardo Balerdi is expected to slot in at the heart of the defence alongside Nicolas Otamendi.

The likes of captain Lionel Messi, Emiliano Martinez, Julian Alvarez, Lautaro Martinez, Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez are expected to feature against Peru.

For Peru, there are no major injury concerns and manager Jorge Fossati could retain his playing XI from last game.

Argentina vs Peru football head-to-head

The Argentina vs Peru football head-to-head favours La Albiceleste. Argentina have won 37 of the 58 matches that they have played against each other. Peru have registered just seven victories while as many as 14 matches have ended in draws.

The last time these two sides met, Argentina beat Peru 2-0 in a Copa America 2024 Group A match at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida in June 2024.

Star forward Lautaro Martínez netted a brace to guide Argentina to a win.

Where to watch Argentina vs Peru FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers live in India

Live streaming of the Argentina vs Peru FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers will be available on the FanCode app and website in India.

There will be no live telecast of Argentina vs Peru FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers on any TV channel in India.

Photo credit: Imago

International Football often finds itself in the periphery with club games and competitions dominating the international calendar. 

Though it takes the front seat during World Cups and continental championships, the number of games played otherwise are few and far between in international football compared to club games. 

Also, the qualifiers for major tournaments and international friendlies do not happen regularly. So players have to hit the ground running to quickly get used to the prevailing system and to sync up with other players in the national set-up.

As a result, it becomes difficult to get things on track and churn out wins for their national side, even for highly skilled players. The number of matches and wins in a player’s international career will be much less compared to their club numbers.

In that light, a player with more than a hundred wins would have had a long career at the international level achieving something special. It is not often that we come across players having such levels of longevity and consistency, which is also an ode to their fitness levels.

Having said that, let us glance through the list of players with the most wins in international football.

Most wins by a player in international football

Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo leads the list of players with the most wins in international football with 132 victories. The Spanish duo of Sergio Ramos and Iker Casillas are second and third, respectively, with 131 and 121 wins.

Argentine Lionel Messi is fourth on the list with 119 wins in international football.

Most wins by a player in international football

Player	Country	International wins
Cristiano Ronaldo	Portugal	132
Sergio Ramos	Spain	131
Iker Casillas	Spain	121
Lionel Messi	Argentina	119

Cristiano Ronaldo | 132 wins

Cristiano Ronaldo is on top of the list of players with the most wins in international football having won 132 matches for Portugal. 

The 39-year-old Ronaldo made his senior debut with Portugal in August 2003 at the age of 18. He went on to represent his country in six European Championships, the most by any player, and five World Cups.

Ronaldo also led Portugal to the UEFA EURO 2016 title, their first major title in international football. He is also on top of the scoring charts in the international scene with 135 goals.  

Sergio Ramos | 131 wins

Sergio Ramos is second on the list of players with the most wins in international football with 131 victories for Spain. He made his debut for Spain’s senior side in an international friendly against China in March 2005.

The former Real Madrid defender was part of the golden generation of Spanish football that won three major titles in a row from 2008 to 2012. He was part of the team that won back-to-back European championships in 2008 and 2012 along with the World Cup in between, in 2010.

Ramos also has a tally of 23 goals from 180 senior appearances for Spain.

Iker Casillas | 121 wins

Iker Casillas, who was the captain of the Spanish football team during their golden reign, is in third place for most wins by a player in international football with 121 victories in his career. 

The former Real Madrid goalkeeper made his senior debut in June 2000 and went on to lift three consecutive major trophies with Spain from 2008 to 2012. He kept a clean sheet in each of the final matches in those tournaments.

Spain notched up identical 1-0 wins over Germany in the EURO 2008 final and against the Netherlands in the 2010 World Cup final before thrashing Italy 4-0 in the final of EURO 2012.

Photo credit: Imago

The Argentina national football team will lock horns with Paraguay in their upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers clash at the Estadio Defensores del Chaco in Asuncion, Paraguay.

The Paraguay vs Argentina, FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers will start at 5:00 AM IST on Friday, November 15.

The Paraguay national football team will head into the game high on confidence after registering a crucial 2-1 win against Venezuela in their previous FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers encounter at the Estadio Defensores del Chaco in October.

After Jon Aramburu gave Venezuela an early lead in the 25th minute, Paraguay bounced back in the second half courtesy forward Antonio Sarabria’s brace.

Having registered three wins, four draws and suffered three defeats, Paraguay are currently placed sixth in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers 2026 CONMEBOL standings with 13 points from 10 matches.

On the other hand, defending FIFA World Cup champions Argentina are on the cusp of qualifying for the 2026 edition.

Under the tutelage of head coach Lionel Scaloni, Argentina are currently placed on top of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers 2026 CONMEBOL standings with 22 points from 10 games, three points clear of second-placed Colombia.

Currently the number one team in the FIFA men’s rankings, Argentina rode on captain Lionel Messi’s hat-trick along with goals from Lautaro Martínez, Julián Alvarez and Thiago Almada to thrash Bolivia 6-0 in their last FIFA World Cup Qualifiers 2026 clash last month.

For Argentina, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez is back in the squad after serving his two-match suspension last month. He is expected to replace Geronimo Rulli in the starting XI.

The likes of Nicolas Otamendi, Cristian Romero, Rodrigo De Paul, Enzo Fernández, Giovani Lo Celso, Alexis Mac Allister, captain Lionel Messi and Julian Alvarez could start against Paraguay.

Hosts Paraguay will once again rely on Antonio Sanabria to score crucial goals on home soil against La Albiceleste.

The Premier League trio of Miguel Almiron, Ramon Sosa and Julio Enciso could also play a key role to bag maximum points from the upcoming clash.

Paraguay vs Argentina football head-to-head

The Paraguay vs Argentina football head-to-head favours La Albiceleste. Argentina have won 60 of the 111 matches that they have played against each other. Paraguay have registered 16 victories while as many as 35 matches have ended in draws.

The last time these two sides met, Argentina pipped Paraguay 1-0 in a FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers encounter at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires, Argentina in October 2023.

Star defender Nicolás Otamendi netted the solitary goal of the match in the third minute to help Argentina secure all three points from the game.

Where to watch Paraguay vs Argentina FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers live in India

Live streaming of the Paraguay vs Argentina FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers will be available on the FanCode app and website in India.

There will be no live telecast of Paraguay vs Argentina FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers on any TV channel in India.

Photo credit: Imago

Inter Miami will host Atlanta United in an MLS Cup Playoffs 2024 match on Sunday, November 10.

The Inter Miami vs Atlanta United MLS Cup Playoffs 2024 match will be played at the Chase Stadium in Fort Lauderdale, Florida at 06:30 AM on Sunday. Live streaming of the match will be available in India.

This will be the third and final match between both sides in the best-of-three round-one knockout in the MLS Cup Playoffs 2024. Both teams registered identical 2-1 wins in the first two matches taking the contest to a third round to decide the winner.

The first team to win two matches in the best-of-three round-one contest will advance to the Conference semifinals.

Inter Miami, led by Lionel Messi, won the first match with goals from his former Barcelona teammates Luiz Suarez and Jordi Alba. However, Atlanta United bounced back with a win at home in the second round to take the contest to the decider.

The regular MLS season is followed by a postseason knockout tournament to determine the league champion. This elimination tournament is called the MLS Cup Playoffs. The final match of the tournament or the championship game is called the MLS Cup.

A total of 18 teams, the top nine from the Eastern and Western conferences, qualified for the MLS Cup Playoffs based on their regular season points total. The top seven teams from both conferences automatically qualified for Round One of the MLS Cup Playoffs.

The teams ranked eighth and ninth in both geographies play each other in the Wild-card round in a single knockout match with the winners progressing to Round One.

Inter Miami, which plays in the Eastern Conference, won the Supporters�?Shield, the annual award for the team with the best record in the regular season, in the 2024 season with 74 points from 22 wins, eight draws and four losses in 34 matches.

Meanwhile, Atlanta finished ninth in the regular season with 40 points from 34 matches. They qualified for the round one playoffs after winning their wild-card match against eighth-placed Montreal on penalties.

Four teams that win their round one matches proceed to the Conference semifinals of each geography. The Conference Final is played between the teams that advance from the semifinals in their respective geography.

The winner of the respective Conference Final will advance to play the MLS Cup, the championship match with all matches after round one to be played in a single-legged knockout format.

Inter Miami vs Atlanta United head-to-head

There is nothing to separate Inter Miami and Atlanta United in their head-to-head record with both teams winning six matches each out of the total 16 matches played. Four matches have ended in draws.

Apart from the last two matches in the MLS Cup Playoffs 2024 with each team winning once, Inter Miami met Atlanta twice in the regular season. While the duel in September 2024 ended in a 2-2 draw, Atlanta won by a 3-1 margin in the May 2024 encounter.

Where to watch Inter Miami vs Atlanta United, MLS Cup Playoffs 2024 match live in India

Live streaming of the Inter Miami vs Atlanta United MLS Cup Playoffs 2024 match will be available on Apple TV via MLS season pass in India.

The Inter Miami vs Atlanta United MLS Cup Playoffs 2024 match will not be telecast live on any TV channels in India.

Photo credit: Imago

The much-anticipated Ballon d'Or 2024 ceremony will take place at the Theatre du Chatelet in Paris, France on Tuesday, October 29 (as per IST). The annual European football awards ceremony will kickstart at 1:15 AM IST.

Similar to 2023, this year will witness the prestigious award being presented to the best player based on their performance in the previous footballing season, from August 1, 2023, to July 31, 2024.

Apart from the 68th Ballon d'Or, the Women's Ballon d'Or will be given to the best female player, and the Kopa Trophy will be handed over to the best male player in the under-21 age category. The Yashin Trophy, named after Russian goalkeeping legend Lev Yashin, will be given to the best goalkeeper in the men's category.

The Real Madrid duo of Jude Bellingham and Vinicius Junior headline the favourites list with their envious double of the La Liga and the UEFA Champions League with the club. Bellingham also played a key role in England’s journey to their second consecutive final in the UEFA EURO Championship in 2024 with two goals in the competition.

Dani Carvajal, apart from winning the double with Bellingham and Vinicius at Real Madrid, was part of the Spain side that won the UEFA Euro 2024.

Rodri, who was the Player of the Tournament in Spain’s winning campaign at Euro 2024, also won the English Premier League for a fourth consecutive year with Manchester City. Rodri’s clubmate Erling Haaland who won the second consecutive Premier League Golden Boot award with 27 goals from 31 matches is also in the fray.

17-year-old Spanish prodigy Lamine Yamal, who was part of the Spanish team in Euro 2024 and the England duo of Phil Foden and Harry Kane are the other competitors among the nominees. Here is the full list of nominees for the 2024 Ballon d'Or ceremony.

Ballon d'Or 2024 nominees

• Jude Bellingham (England, Real Madrid)
• Hakan Çalhanoğlu (Türkiye, Inter)
• Dani Carvajal (Spain, Real Madrid)
• Rúben Dias (Portugal, Manchester City)
• Artem Dovbyk (Ukraine, Dnipro / Girona / Roma)
• Phil Foden (England, Manchester City)
• Alejandro Grimaldo (Spain, Bayer Leverkusen)
• Erling Haaland (Norway, Manchester City)
• Mats Hummels (Germany, Borussia Dortmund)
• Harry Kane (England, Bayern München)
• Toni Kroos (Germany, Real Madrid)
• Ademola Lookman (Nigeria, Atalanta)
• Emiliano Martínez (Argentina, Aston Villa)
• Lautaro Martínez (Argentina, Inter)
• Kylian Mbappé (France, Paris Saint-Germain / Real Madrid)
• Martin Ødegaard (Norway, Arsenal)
• Dani Olmo (Spain, Leipzig / Barcelona)
• Cole Palmer (England, Manchester City / Chelsea)
• Declan Rice (England, Arsenal)
• Rodri (Spain, Manchester City)
• Antonio Rüdiger (Germany, Real Madrid)
• Bukayo Saka (England, Arsenal)
• William Saliba (France, Arsenal)
• Federico Valverde (Uruguay, Real Madrid)
• Vinícius Júnior (Brazil, Real Madrid)
• Vitinha (Portugal, Paris Saint-Germain)
• Nico Williams (Spain, Athletic Club)
• Florian Wirtz (Germany, Bayer Leverkusen)
• Granit Xhaka (Switzerland, Bayer Leverkusen)
• Lamine Yamal (Spain, Barcelona)

It will be the first time since 2003 that both Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo do not feature in the list of nominees for the prestigious Ballon d’Or award. The duo have a total of 13 awards among them with Messi winning a record eight times including in the last year. 

Cristiano Ronaldo has won the Ballon d’Or five times with his latest win coming in 2017.

Where to watch Ballon d’Or 2024 live in India

Live telecast of the Ballon d’Or 2024 ceremony will be available on the Sony Sports Network’s TV channels in India. 

Live streaming of the Ballon d’Or 2024 ceremony will be available on the SonyLIV app and website in India.

Photo credit: Imago

Club Football requires a player to be on top of his game consistently over several seasons. It is always an onerous task to constantly rake in goals match after match, season after season.

European clubs hold an elite position in the hierarchy of club football all over the globe with the best talents in the world plying their trade in Europe. As a result, the quality of the game is also at the highest level in the top European Leagues when compared to other leagues.

Strikers have the thankless job of scoring goals for their teams and keeping them in the hunt to win domestic titles. It requires them to be in the prime of their game for extended periods for the clubs to get results consistently. 

On that note, let us glance through the list of players with the most goals in Europe’s top five leagues.

Most goals in Europe’s top five leagues

Former Barcelona player Lionel Messi leads the list of players with the most goals in Europe’s top five leagues with 496 goals. Cristiano Ronaldo is second with 495 goals while Robert Lewandowsk is third with 366 goals.

Most goals in Europe's top five leagues

Player	Country	Goals
Lionel Messi	Argentina	496
Cristiano Ronaldo	Portugal	495
Robert Lewandowski	Poland	366
Gerd Muller	Germany	365
Jimmy Greaves	England	357

Lionel Messi | 496 goals

Argentine superstar Lionel Messi leads the list of players with most goals in Europe’s top five leagues with 496 goals. The former Barcelona player scored a major chunk of these goals during his stay at the Catalan club for 17 seasons from 2004 to 2021.

Messi scored his first goal for Barcelona in May 2005 and went on to find the net 474 times from 520 appearances in the Spanish League. He has amassed 30 goals or more in nine of his 17 seasons, including a magical 50 goals in a single season in 2011-12.

In his two seasons with Paris Saint-Germain, Messi scored 22 goals from 58 appearances for the French club. Messi has won 12 domestic league titles in Europe, 10 La Liga titles with Barcelona and two Ligue 1 titles with PSG. 

Cristiano Ronaldo | 495 goals

Cristiano Ronaldo is second on the list of footballers with the most goals in Europe’s top five leagues with a tally of 495 goals. Ronaldo has been part of teams from three of the five top leagues in Europe. He has represented Manchester United in England, Real Madrid in Spain and Juventus in Italy in his stellar club football career.

The Portuguese player has a whopping aggregate of 311 goals for Real Madrid in nine seasons with them and also won two La Liga titles. Ronaldo has also scored 103 goals in the Premier League with Manchester United helping them to three consecutive domestic titles from 2007 to 2009.

In his stint with Juventus in Italy, Ronaldo found the net 81 times winning the Serie A title in his first two years with the club.

Robert Lewandowski | 366 goals

Polish striker Robert Lewandowski is third on the elite list of goal scorers in Europe’s top five leagues with 366 goals. Lewandowski has a total of 312 goals in Germany, 238 with Bayern Munich and 74 goals with Borussia Dortmund, and an envious collection of 10 Bundesliga titles.

With Barcelona, the striker has amassed 54 goals in only his third season with the Catalan giants and won the La Liga title with them in 2022-23.

Gerd Muller | 365 goals

Bayern Munich and Germany’s legendary striker Gerd Muller is next on the list of players with the most goals in Europe’s top five leagues with 365 strikes. All of Muller’s goals have come for Bayern Munich in 14 seasons from 1965-66 to 1978-79.

Muller played a key role in powering Bayern Munich to four domestic titles, including consecutive wins for three seasons from 1972 to 1974. He also won the European Cup for three consecutive seasons with the Bavarians. 

Photo credit: Imago

The Argentina national football team will square off against Bolivia in their upcoming FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers clash at the Estadio Mas Monumental in Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The Argentina vs Bolivia, FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers will start at 5:30 AM IST on Wednesday, October 16.

Under head coach Lionel Scaloni, the reigning FIFA World Cup champions Argentina will look to return to winning ways after they were held to a 1-1 draw by Venezuela, played on the soaked field at the Estadio Monumental de Maturín last week.

Star defender Nicolas Otamendi gave Argentina an early lead in the 13th minute. However, Salomón Rondón later equalised for Venezuela in the second half to share one point each.

Despite the draw, the Lionel Messi-led Argentina are placed on top of the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers CONMEBOL standings with 19 points from nine games, three points clear of second-placed Colombia.

On the other hand, the Bolivia national football team will head into the game high on confidence after they stunned Colombia 1-0 in their previous FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers encounter played at the Municipal Stadium El Alto in El Alto, Bolivia.

Young forward Miguel Terceros netted the match-winning goal in the 58th minute to help Bolivia bag three crucial points from the game.

With four wins and five losses, Bolivia are currently placed sixth in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers CONMEBOL standings with 12 points from nine matches.

Meanwhile, Argentina miss the services of their custodian Emiliano Martinez who will serve the second of his two-match ban against Bolivia. Gerónimo Rulli is expected to retain his place between the sticks.

The hosts will receive a massive boost with the return of their star defender Cristian Romero, who missed the game against Venezuela due to accumulation of yellow cards.

Bolivia, on the other hand, will miss the services of Ervin Vaca and Yomar Rocha who have been ruled out due to injuries.

Furthermore, the visitors will be without midfielder Hector Cuellar, who will serve his suspension after his red card against Colombia.

Argentina vs Bolivia football head-to-head

The Argentina vs Bolivia football head-to-head favours La Albiceleste. Argentina have won 31 of the 43 matches that they have played against each other. Bolivia have registered just seven victories while as many as five matches have ended in draws.

The last time these two sides met, Argentina beat Bolivia 3-0 in a FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers encounter at the Estadio Hernando Siles in La Paz, Bolivia.

Enzo Fernández, Nicolás Tagliafico and Nicolás González netted a goal each in Argentina’s comprehensive win in September 2023.

Where to watch Argentina vs Bolivia FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers live in India

Live streaming of the Argentina vs Bolivia FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers will be available on the FanCode app and website in India.

There will be no live telecast of Argentina vs Bolivia FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers on any TV channel in India.

Photo credit: Imago

Venezuela will host Argentina in a ninth-round match of the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers at the Estadio Monumental de Maturin in Maturin, Venezuela on Friday, October 11.

The Venezuela vs Argentina FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier match will start at 02:30 AM IST on Friday. Live streaming of the match will be available in India.

Argentina, with six wins and two losses, are currently on top of the FIFA World Cup 2026 CONMEBOL Qualifiers with 18 points after eight rounds of action. 

Meanwhile, hosts Venezuela are currently in the sixth position with 10 points having bagged two wins, four draws and suffered two defeats.

CONMEBOL, also known as the South American Football Confederation, has a total of 10 teams. The top six automatically qualify for the FIFA World Cup 2026, which will be jointly hosted by the United States of America, Canada and Mexico. 

The team placed seventh will proceed to play in the FIFA Play-Off Tournament.

Each team in CONMEBOL will play a total of 18 matches in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers which includes two matches each, at home and away, against all the other nine sides.

Venezuela are coming into the contest after a 0-0 draw against Uruguay at home in the last round at the same venue. 

Meanwhile, Argentina, without their talisman Lionel Messi, were subjected to a 1-2 defeat at Colombia in the last round. 

The contest, which was a rematch of the Copa America 2024 final, saw Argentina being handed only their second defeat in the FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers. 

Messi, who missed Argentina’s last two qualifiers due to an ankle injury he suffered in the Copa America 2024 final, is set for a return in the Venezuela match. Argentina will hope that the return of the star footballer will help them get back to winning ways.

However, Alexis Mac Allister looks a doubtful starter after picking up an injury in Liverpool’s game against Crystal Palace in the English Premier League. 

World Cup 2022 and Copa America 2024 winners Argentina continue their reign at the top spot in the FIFA Men’s football rankings while Venezuela are in the 40th spot as per FIFA’s latest list.

Venezuela vs Argentina football head-to-head

The Venezuela vs Argentina head-to-head record is heavily loaded in favour of the Argentines, who have won 24 of the total 28 matches, including a 3-0 win in their last encounter against Venezuela in the 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers.

Venezuela, meanwhile, have won two games with their last win over Argentina coming in 2019 in an international friendly. Two matches have ended in draws.

Where to watch Venezuela vs Argentina FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier match live in India

Live streaming of the Venezuela vs Argentina FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier match will be available on the FanCode app and website in India. 

There will not be any live telecast of the Venezuela vs Argentina FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier match on any TV channel in India.

Photo credit: Imago

On June 15, 2021, Lionel Messi’s 33rd minute free-kick against Chile in a 1-1 draw at the Copa America 2021 took the Argentine ahead of Cristiano Ronaldo in the list for most free-kick goals by an active footballer. That goal was Messi’s 57th free-kick goal for club and country.

A couple of weeks later, Messi produced a Man of the Match performance by scoring once and assisting twice in his team’s 3-0 win over Ecuador in the quarter-final of Copa America 2021. 

One year later in September 2022, Lionel Messi scored another mesmerizing free-kick in their 3-0 win over Jamaica in an international friendly at the Red Bull Arena in New Jersey ahead of the 2022 FIFA World Cup. He netted another brilliant free-kick for Paris Saint-Germain in their 2-1 victory against OGC Nice in the Ligue 1 2022-23 in October.

With two back-to-back free-kicks to his name, he took his tally to 60 free-kick goals. After moving to MLS side Inter Miami in 2023, Messi hit the ground running for his new team by scoring two free-kicks in his first few games for the club. He also scored one freekick in the 2024 MLS Super Shield final and now has 66 free-kick goals in total with the bulk of them coming for Barcelona and Argentina.

Messi’s figure of 66 free-kick goals puts him above Diego Maradona’s total of 62 goals from direct free-kicks. That number, however, is considerably lower than former Lyon and Brazil midfielder, Juninho Pernambucano, who has scored the most free-kick goals in football history.

During his two-decade-long career, Juninho scored 77 free-kicks for club and country. Second on the list is Brazilian legend Pele, who netted 70 goals from direct free-kicks.

Modern-day greats Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo (64) are in the top-10 list of footballers with the most goals via free-kick. Former Brazil and Sao Paulo goalkeeper, Rogerio Ceni is 10th on the list for most free-kick goals (59) in football history.

Most free-kick goals in football history

Player	Nationality	Goals
Juninho Pernambucano	Brazil	77
Pele	Brazil	70
Victor Legrotaglie	Argentina	66
Ronaldinho	Brazil	66
Lionel Messi	Argentina	66
David Beckham	England	65
Cristiano Ronaldo	Portugal	64
Diego Maradona	Argentina	62
Zico	Brazil	62
Ronald Koeman	Netherlands	60
Marcelinho Carioca	Brazil	59
Rodrigo Ceni	Brazil	59

As far as active footballers are concerned, no one comes close to the likes of Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo. Their immediate competition is Inter Milan's Hakan Calhanoglu, who has scored 27 goals via direct-free kicks. 

Featured photo: FRANCK FIFE / AFP