Leo Messi eyes Maradona's mark of 34 goals with Argentina

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Leo Messi, who is Argentina's fourth highest goalscorer with 31 goals, could surpass Diego Maradona's 34 goals this week as his country takes on Venezuela and Bolivia in the World Cup qualifiers

Leo Messi still has a lot of challenges ahead of him with FC Barcelona and Argentina. The highest goalscorer in official matches for FC Barcelona will feature for his country in the coming days against Venezuela and Bolivia, and if he's on target, he could break Diego Maradona's goalscoring record with Argentina. Messi has scored a total of 31 goals from 77 appearances for Argentina, which puts him just three goals behind Diego Maradona. ‘El Pelusa’ scored a total of 34 goals in his international career with the Albiceleste, and he’s the third highest goalscorer of all time for his country.

Crespo and Batistuta on the horizon

Hernán Crespo, who is Argentina’s second all-time top goalscorer, could also see his record tumble this week. Messi is just four goals away from reaching Crespo’s mark of 35 goals for Argentina.

The highest goalscorer for Argentina, Gabriel Batistuta, scored 56 goals for his country in his footballing career. The difference of 25 goals is considerable, but if Messi remains on target throughout the qualifiers and in the World Cup finals, he could come within striking distance of the ex-Fiorentina and Roma player.

Veteran despite his youth

Despite only being 25 years old, Messi is among the top 10 players that have featured the most for Argentina. To date, he's played a total of 77 matches for his country. His teammate, Javier Mascherano, has featured in 10 more matches than Messi (87). The player at the top of this particular list is Javier Zanetti, who has played in 145 international matches for Argentina.