Kathmandu: Lionel Messi scored his 800th career goal as world champions Argentina beat Panama 2-0 in a friendly on Friday morning.
IMAGO/Photogamma/Javier Garcia Martino
This is the first match played by Argentina after winning the World Cup title in Qatar last December.
Messi and young player Thiego Almada scored for Argentina in the home match in Buenos Aires. Almada took the lead in the 78th minute. Messi scored from a free kick in the 89th minute to secure Argentina’s victory.
This is Messi’s 99th goal for the Argentine national team. He has scored a total of 701 goals at the club level.
He has scored 672 goals for Barcelona and 29 goals for Paris Saint-Germain. Messi is one goal away from completing 100 goals for Argentina. Argentina will play Curacao next Tuesday.
Messi became the second player to complete 800 goals in his career. Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo has scored 830 goals.
