Argentina will face Venezuela and Ecuador during this September international break in their final two matches of the South American World Cup qualifiers, already secure in their place for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico, and Canada. However, that doesn’t mean these matches are without meaning—especially for Lionel Messi.
The Argentine forward acknowledged last week that Thursday’s match against Venezuela in Buenos Aires will likely be his final official game on home soil. In doing so, Leo hinted that his time with the national team is nearing its end and that he’s unlikely to continue after the 2026 World Cup.
Given that, Venezuela and Ecuador will likely be his final appearances in World Cup qualifiers—and therefore his last chance to reach a goal that has eluded him throughout his international career with Argentina.
Messi is aiming to finish as the top scorer in this edition of the South American qualifiers—something he has never achieved before. At the moment, he sits in second place with 6 goals in 11 matches, tied with Bolivia’s Miguel Terceros, and just one behind the leader: Colombia’s Luis Diaz, who has 7.
Luis Diaz is currently the top scorer in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
With two games remaining, Messi could catch and surpass the Bayern Munich winger, but his participation in next Tuesday’s match against Ecuador remains uncertain. Reports suggest he may not travel in order to return early to Miami and rest ahead of Major League Soccer’s decisive stretch. On the other hand, Colombia have not yet secured their World Cup spot, so it’s almost certain Diaz will play in both matches and have the opportunity to extend his goal tally.
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The surprising streak Lionel Messi carries with Argentina and aims to break vs Venezuela
How has Messi performed in past qualifiers?
Ironically, Messi could top the scoring charts in this edition of the South American World Cup qualifiers with fewer goals than he scored in previous years. His debut in the competition came ahead of Germany 2006, when he played three matches but failed to score. Brazil’s Ronaldo Nazario led that campaign with 10 goals.
On the road to South Africa 2010, Lionel had already become a key figure for Argentina: he played all 18 matches and scoredfour goals. Still, he finished well behind Chile’s Humberto Suazo, who scored 10. In the lead-up to Brazil 2014, the top scorer in the qualifiers was Uruguay’s Luis Suarez with 11 goals. Messi was close,scoring 10 in 14 appearances.
Argentina struggled on their way to Russia 2018. Messi’s goals were crucial to securing qualification—he scored seven times in 10 matches—but he still trailed Uruguay’s Edinson Cavani, who had 10. And ahead of Qatar 2022, Messi found the net seven times in 15 matches, but was again outpaced by Bolivia’s Marcelo Moreno Martins, who scored 10.
see also
World Cup 2026 Qualifiers TV Schedule in USA
Messi is the all-time leading scorer in World Cup qualifiers
Even though Messi has never finished as the top scorer in a single edition of the World Cup qualifiers, he holds the all-time scoring record in the competition. His 34 goals in 71 matches put him ahead of other South American stars like Luis Suarez, Alexis Sanchez, and Marcelo Moreno Martins.
