FIFA World Cup Qualifiers: How many goals does Messi need to break Pele's scoring record?

Lionel Messi is currently the record holder for the most goals scored for a single club after he overtook Pele, Messi has 672 goals for his time at Barcelona while the Brazilian player has 643 for Santos. There was an argument made by Pele's former team that he actually scored 1,091 but because friendlies are not included his total comes down to 643. Messi is now on the verge of breaking another Pele record but this time on the international level as he aims to become South America's top goalscorer.

How many goals does Messi need?

Messi is already Argentina's top scorer with 76 goals and is now just one short of equaling Pele's 77 international goals after scoring four goals at the Copa America 2021 but missed an opportunity to score in his match against Venezuela in their FIFA World Cup Qualifiers match. He will be hoping to equal or better the record when he takes on Bolivia after the match against Brazil was called off.

Messi is, however, still far from becoming the highest goal scorer in international football history as that tag belongs to Portuguese superstar Cristiano Ronaldo who has 111 goals. And with the 36-year-old still playing and scoring on a regular it will be a tough task for Messi to break that record. Ronaldo scored a brace late on in the match to help lead Portugal to a victory over Ireland and also break the record previously held by Ali Daei with 109 goals.

Brazil vs Argentina suspended

Arch-rivals Brazil and Argentina were all set to lock horns in the FIFA World Cup Qualifiers on Sunday at Sau Paulo. However, the eagerly-awaited contest had to be suspended after Brazilian health officials entered the pitch and accused some Argentine players of violating the country's COVID-19 protocol. As per reports, Brazilian health professionals on the ground objected to the participation of four Argentine players -  Emiliano Buendia, Emiliano Martinez, Cristian Romero, and Giovani Lo Celso - saying that they violated the country's quarantine rules. The South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL) informed in a statement that the referee and match officials will take a report to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee and they will decide what steps to take.

(Image Credits: AP)