Messi scores five to surpass Puskas's tally
Key takeaways:
- Lionel Messi drove up to fourth in the all-time scoring table in men's international football.
- Lionel Messi netted all five of Argentina's goals as they continued their exemplary record by hitting Estonia in a friendly in Pamplona, Spain.
On Wednesday, the Argentines cleaned aside Italy 3-0 in the Finalissima - a match between Europe and South America winners.
Messi delivered two assists in that match, and he was again in vintage form.
He opened the scoring with a penalty and then hit two more goals in either half to finish the route.
It is the only time the 34-year-old has scored five in a match for his nation. He has only ever earned the feat once before in his career, in a 7-1 victory for Barcelona over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League in 2012.
His third against Estonia, two minutes after half-time, took him level on 84 goals with Ferenc Puskas as the fourth leading scorer in the history of men's international football.
Fourteen minutes after, his fourth of the match meant he had exceeded the legendary Hungarian and now holds that place outright, behind only Malaysia's Mokhtar Dahari (89), Iran's Ali Daei (109), and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (117).