Argentina's Lionel Messi edging closer to Pele's international record
Messi's goal against Ecuador took him on to 71 international goals
Barcelona and Argentina captain Lionel Messi has another record in his grasp and this time it's Brazil legend Pele who he has in his sights.
Messi scored the only goal on Thursday as Argentina began their qualifying campaign for the World Cup in Qatar in 2022 with a 1-0 win against Ecuador.
He has now scored 71 goals for his country and is just six away from the record held by Pele, which has stood since he retired, as the top-scoring international player in South America.
The ex-Santos striker scored 77 goals for Brazil. With 71, Messi has already moved passed Ronaldo, who scored 62, into second place on the all-time list.
Completing the top five are two more players still playing with a Barcelona past: Neymar has scored 61 times for Brazil and Luis Suarez has 60 for Uruguay,
QUALIFYING RECORD
Everything is in place for Messi to overtake Pele. Meanwhile, he's also in a battle with Luis Suarez to be the top scorer in South American World Cup qualifying.
Suarez, who was also on target as Uruguay beat Chile on Thursday, has 22 goals, while Messi has 21. They have both passed Argentine greats Hernan Crespo (19) and Marcelo Salas (18).
There are more games coming on Tuesday: Argentina face Bolivia and Uruguay are playing against Ecuador.
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