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Paris Saint-Germain star Lionel Messi, who recently recovered from a Covid-19 infection, was dropped from Argentina's squad for the World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Colombia on Wednesday, two-time former winners who have already qualified for Qatar 2022.
Messi goals in World Cup qualifying
Messi has been a major contributor to Argentina's World Cup runs in the past, helping the nation qualify for five straight FIFA tournaments.
He is the all-time top scorer in his country (80 goals and counts) and has more World Cup qualifying goals (28) than any other player in South American qualifying history.
| World Cup | Qualifying finish | Qualifiers played | Messi goals |
| 2006 | 2nd place | 3 | 0 |
| 2010 | 4th place | 18 | 4 |
| 2014 | 1st place | 14 | 10 |
| 2018 | 3rd place | 10 | 7 |
| 2022 | 2nd place | 14 | 7 |
Did Messi win Any FIFA World Cup?
Messi has never won a FIFA World Cup. Although he has come close.
Here's a look at his performance :
| Year | Stage eliminated | Eliminated by | Matches played by Messi | Messi goals |
| 2006 | Quarterfinals | Germany | 3 | 1 |
| 2010 | Quarterfinals | Germany | 5 | 0 |
| 2014 | Final | Germany | 7 | 4 |
| 2018 | Round of 16 | France | 4 | 1 |
Lionel Messi national team goals in Argentina
If the match against Venezuela on March 25 was the last match Messi has played for the national team on Argentine soil, it was a nice way to go out.
He's played a total of 42 matches (27 goals) in Argentina over the course of his career.
| Competition | Date | Opponent | Goals | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| WC Qualifier | Oct. 11, 2008 | Uruguay | 1 | 2-1 |
| WC Qualifier | March 28, 2009 | Venezuela | 1 | 4-0 |
| Friendly | Sept. 7, 2010 | Spain | 1 | 4-1 |
| Friendly | June 20, 2011 | Albania | 1 | 4-0 |
| WC Qualifier | Oct. 8, 2011 | Chile | 1 | 4-1 |
| WC Qualifier | June 3, 2012 | Ecuador | 1 | 4-0 |
| WC Qualifier | Sept. 8, 2012 | Paraguay | 1 | 3-1 |
| WC Qualifier | Oct. 13, 2012 | Uruguay | 2 | 3-0 |
| WC Qualifier | March 23, 2013 | Venezuela | 1 | 3-0 |
| Friendly | July 6, 2014 | Slovenia | 1 | 2-0 |
| WC Qualifier | March 30, 2016 | Bolivia | 1 | 2-0 |
| WC Qualifier | Sept. 2, 2016 | Uruguay | 1 | 1-0 |
| WC Qualifier | Nov. 16, 2016 | Colombia | 1 | 3-0 |
| WC Qualifier | March 24, 2017 | Chile | 1 | 1-0 |
| Friendly | May 30, 2018 | Haità | 3 | 4-0 |
| Friendly | June 8, 2019 | Nicaragua | 2 | 5-1 |
| WC Qualifier | Oct. 9, 2020 | Ecuador | 1 | 1-0 |
| WC Qualifier | June 4, 2021 | Chile | 1 | 1-1 |
| WC Qualifier | Sept. 10, 2021 | Bolivia | 3 | 3-0 |
| WC Qualifier | Oct. 11, 2021 | Uruguay | 1 | 3-0 |
| WC Qualifier | March 25, 2022 | Venezuela |
