Lionel Messi Surpasses Ali Daei’s World Cup Qualifying Record
TEHRAN (Tasnim) - Lionel Messi became the second player in history to score goals for a national team in 20 consecutive years (since 2006), after Cristiano Ronaldo (22 years in a row, 2004 to 2025).
Messi, with a brace in presumably last home qualifying match in his career, equaled Cristiano Ronaldo as the 2nd highest scorer in World Cup qualifying history (36 goals both). He surpassed Ali Daei (35). The record belongs to Guatemala’s Carlos Ruíz (39).
These goals are the first Messi’s for Argentina in 2025.
The next in this ranking are Robbie Keane, scoring for Republic of Ireland during 19 successive years (1998 to 2016),
Edin Džeko, scoring for Bosnia and Herzegovina during the same period (2007 to 2025).
Messi equaled Ecuador’s Iván Hurtado as the player with most appearances (72) in the history of South American Qualifiers.
