Messi backed to battle Ronaldo to 1,000 career goals

Martin Macdonald

• 1 Apr 2026 07:30 CDT
• 2 min read

News

Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni believes Lionel Messi will reach the milestone of 1,000 career goals and has backed the superstar to again dazzle at the upcoming 2026 World Cup.

In the middle of March, Messi struck the 900th goal of his illustrious career as current club Inter Miami drew 1-1 with Nashville in a Major League Soccer fixture. Despite playing on different continents, he is still battling with perennial rival Cristiano Ronaldo, who also has 1,000 goals in his sights, having scored 965 so far.

Scaloni reckons Messi will reach this milestone despite being in the twilight of his career at 38 years old.

"He could reach 1,000 goals, we'll have to see how much longer he plays," the Argentina boss said after his side demolished Zambia 5-0 in a friendly.

"The thing is, he has to want to keep going. I hope he does, because he's happy on the pitch and we all want to see him. One year he scored over 90 goals - he can get there."

Messi hasn't actually declared whether or not he'll participate in the 2026 World Cup this summer, due to take place across North America.

It seems likely he will be involved, though, and Scaloni believes the eight-time Ballon d'Or winner still has the hunger for success on the biggest stage despite claiming World Cup victory in Qatar in 2022.

"It will be a privilege if Leo decides to play in the World Cup," he said.

"We all want him to enjoy it and we're helping him feel good. He wants the same as us, now he's more relaxed because he's already won a World Cup. His desire to be there and share it is there, we'll see what he decides to do and we'll support him."

What records has Messi broken for Argentina?

1. Messi has the most caps in the history of the Argentina national team with 198 appearances.

2. Messi is the top scorer in the history of the Argentina national team with 117 goals.

3. Messi has assisted more goals than anyone else for Argentina with 62 assists.

3. Messi has scored more hat-tricks for Argentina than anyone else with 10.

4. Messi is Argentina's youngest goalscorer in the history of the World Cup.

5. Messi is the player with the most wins in Argentina history.

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