5 Best goals of Lionel Messi for Argentina

Messi has scored 46 goals in 103 appearances for ArgentinaTime surely flies past very fast. And for Lionel Messi, that certainly has been the case. It was only sometime back that we remember the Barcelona star scoring his first goal for his nation in the group stages of the 2006 FIFA World against Serbia. Now, it has been almost a decade already.Monday marks the 10th anniversary of Messi in Albiceleste colours. The Barcelona star made his forgettable debut on this day in 2005 and got red carded after being 37 seconds on the pitch. But since then, he has built his own destiny and established himself as one of the greatest players ever to play the game.A worthy successor to Argentina legend Diego Maradona, Messi has been the talisman for his country and has been the driving force of his team. But contrary to his predecessor, the 28-year-old has failed to deliver international football’s ultimate prize- the FIFA World Cup for Argentina. Continuous comparisons have been drawn between the two geniuses and this one missing trophy from his cabinet is still a sort of a barrier in his way to claim the position as Argentina’s greatest. However, that doesn’t take away the fact that the four-time Ballon d’Or winner has simply been in a league of his own and has had his incredible moments when playing for his nation. We list down his five greatest goals.

#5 Messi vs Bosnia and Herzegovina - 2014 FIFA World Cup

Bosnia defenders were completely outdone by Messi’s solo run

Argentina were placed in Group F of the 2014 FIFA World Cup alongside Bosnia, Iran and Nigeria and obviously were deemed as favourites to go through to the round-of-16 as comfortable winners.

And the Albiceleste kicked off their road to reach the final against Bosnia in style with a 2-1 win over their European counterparts. And Messi was at the heart of every move as he bagged an assist before scoring a brilliant goal finishing off one of his trademark solo runs.

Messi started his run from 40 yards out and exchanged a one-two with Higuain which forced the Bosnian defenders to clash against each other before he perfectly created space for himself to place a low driven shot into the right corner.

The game was evenly contested in the first half but Argentina picked up the pace after the half time whistle and registered their first win of the tournament at the Maracana.

#4 Messi vs Nigeria

Nigeria were outdone by the brilliance of Messi

After a great start to their World Cup campaign in Brazil, Argentina were made to sweat for a narrow victory over Iran which we will have a look at later. Messi and co played Nigeria in their third and final game of the group phase and the Barcelona star, once again, displayed his master class on the pitch.

The 28-year-old inspired his side to a 3-2 victory by scoring twice against the African nation and progressed to the knockout stages as Group F winners. It was a thrilling encounter where Messi and Nigeria’s Ahmed Musa were the stars of the show, but the Argentine came out on top as his beautiful free kick proved to be the difference between the two sides.

Enyeama, who managed to stop Messi’s first attempt from the dead ball situation, had no answer to the Barcelona star’s curling a left-foot shot early in the second half as the effort from 25 yards out cleared the wall and dropped just inside the right-hand post. It was a marvellous sight as Messi once again proved to be the man for the big occasion.

#3 Messi vs Iran

Messi’s goal in stoppage time earned Argentina a hard fought victory

As mentioned previously, after a smooth start against Bosnia in their opening group stage fixture, Argentina looked out of ideas in their second fixture against Iran as the minnows from Asia made it difficult for Sabella’s men to find any opening.

The South American giants found themselves up against a side that were determined to grab a point from a game as Iran put men behind the ball to nullify all threats. But Messi spoiled their plans in stoppage time after his curling effort found the back of the net to secure all three points for his side.

It was another moment of genius from the four-time Ballon d’Or winner as he provided the breakthrough in a game where Argentina could have dropped points.

#2 Messi vs Mexico

Mexico were completely outclassed by a masterclass performance from Argentina in the Copa America semi final

This goal was scored back in 2007 when Messi was growing into this world-class talent and the football world had begun to take notice of an extraordinary player in the making.

Messi by then had already scored one of the greatest goals ever by replicating his predecessor Maradona’s Goal of the Century against Getafe in La Liga. And his club form was on the uprise with each passing game. Senior players started to understand his potential and even amongst the great names back then, Messi always managed to steal the limelight with his impeccable talent.

And his magic was on display against Mexico in the semi-final of the 2007 Copa America tournament. Argentina won by a comfortable 3-0 margin which included goals from Heinze, Riquelme and Messi. But the little maestro’s chipped effort was out of the world as he completely fooled the goalkeeper after cutting in unmarked from the right wing to help Argentina reach the finals of the competition.

#1 Messi vs Brazil

Messi has been considerably successful against the Brazilians

Even though it was a friendly, games between South American adversaries Argentina and Brazil are always intense and fun to watch especially considering the amount of talents that are on display.

And this game between the two prestigious footballing nations was no different as it was a closely fought contest with Argentina edging their Samba counterparts thanks to an unforgettable display from their talismanic forward Messi.

The Barcelona star took matters on his own hands and scored a hat trick to hand his side a 4-3 victory but not before scoring one of the most amazing goals on the international circuit. After dribbling past Brazilian full-back Marcelo on the right wing, the Argentine shifted gears and commenced on a trademark solo run before unleashing a powerful shot from the edge of the area that found its way to the top left corner of the far post.

Simply an unbelievable strike that awed the whole world.