Messi breaks Argentina's scoring record, nearly double Maradona's

A hat-trick against Ecuador not only sent Argentina to the World Cup, but also increased Messi's scoring record.

The latest three goals give Messi 61 goals for Argentina, setting a new record. M10's achievement is now seven goals ahead of the second-placed former striker Gabriel Batistuta.

Messi's achievements are also almost double that of Maradona. When playing for Argentina, Maradona only scored 34 goals in 91 matches.

Current players also have little hope of breaking Messi's record. The two players with the closest achievements are Aguero (34 goals) and Higuain (31).

M10 is far superior to previous and current generation players in terms of scoring ability for the team.

Messi currently has 122 caps for his country. If he continues to play regularly, the 30-year-old striker could break former defender Javier Zanetti's record of 143 caps. Javier Mascherano has also played more games than Messi, with 139 appearances.

With the win over Ecuador and Messi's hat-trick, Argentina also qualified for the 12th consecutive World Cup. This was a surprising result after the team in blue and white stripes had fallen to sixth place in the South American qualifying round and gradually lost hope.

According to VNE