Cristiano Ronaldo and Lionel Messi made more history on a night of double celebration for the footballing legends.
The Portuguese forward marked his male record 197th appearance for his country with two goals against Liechtenstein. And the Argentine capped his country’s World Cup homecoming party with his 800th goal with a trademark free-kick into the top corner.
Ronaldo, now playing for Saudi side Al-Nassr, also became the first player to score 100 goals in competitive internationals - and 120 in all. And the former Manchester United and Real Madrid superstar, 38, has now scored in 20 consecutive years for Portugal since his first in the group stages of Euro 2004.
The five-time Ballon d’Or winner posted on Instagram: “Such good feelings about playing again and scoring for our national team and in a special stadium for me. Proud to be the most-capped player ever.”
Seven-time Ballon d’Or winner Messi had hit the post twice against Panama before curling in his 89th-minute free kick in Buenos Aires. Messi, 35, scored 672 goals in 778 appearances for Barcelona and has netted 30 since joining Paris Saint-Germain in 2021.
After his 99th goal for his country, an emotional Messi told the sold-out crowd at the Monumental Stadium: "I always dreamed of this moment, celebrating with you. To come to my country and lift a Copa America, the Finalissima and the greatest of all the trophies, the World Cup.
"I know this is our day to celebrate, but I don't want to forget all the teammates who were here before, who also put everything on the field to achieve this and we were very close before. They deserve all the recognition of the Argentine fans because they always did their best for these colours."
Ronaldo officially became the first man to score 800 goals in December 2021 although the late Pele claimed to have scored more than 1,000 goals during his career.
Coach Lionel Scaloni, who picked the same starting lineup as the World Cup final, also fought back tears as he said: "Eternal gratitude to these players. Football belongs to them, and without them we wouldn't have won the World Cup.”
The post-match celebrations saw Panama players get in a scuffle among themselves for the shirt of Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernandez - while Emi Martinez and several team-mates recreated his infamous Golden Glove trophy celebration with imitation World Cups.
Messi, who will have the chance to score his 100th Argentina goal against Curacao on Tuesday, is out of contract in Paris this summer. And his fellow Argentine Sergio Aguero said: “My feeling is that he has a 50% chance of going back to Barcelona. I think that Leo should retire at Barca.”
