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Despite hitting the post twice from free kicks, Messi finally curled his third attempt past Panama keeper Jose Carlos Guerra in the 89th minute, at the Monumental Stadium.
On Thursday night, Lionel Messi marked a significant milestone in his career by scoring his 800th goal for club and country in Argentina's friendly match against Panama in Buenos Aires.
Despite hitting the post twice from free kicks, Messi finally curled his third attempt past Panama keeper Jose Carlos Guerra in the 89th minute, at the Monumental Stadium.
After the game, Messi thanked the fans for their love and recognition, specifically mentioning their support during the Copa America and World Cup.
"We said that we were going to give it all for this trophy," the seven-time Balon d’or said.
The win over Panama was Argentina's first match since defeating France in Qatar last December, with Thiago Almada opening the scoring in the second half before Messi added his historic goal shortly before the final whistle.
Messi's achievement comes shortly after he was named Best FIFA Men's Player, having led Argentina to their third World Cup title in Qatar.
He celebrated his 700th career club goal just last month and now joins Cristiano Ronaldo as only the second man ever to reach the 800 career-goal landmark, according to the International Federation of Football History & Statistics (IFFHS).
However, there is some dispute over the classification of "official" goals scored in "official" competitions, with Brazilian great Pele claiming to have scored over 1,000 goals in his career.
Messi, who spent 17 years with Barcelona, scoring a club-record 672 goals in 778 appearances, has also set a La Liga record with 474 goals.
Since joining PSG in the summer of 2021, he has scored 30 goals for the French club. He has also scored 98 goals for Argentina, including seven during their World Cup-winning campaign.
After the match, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni praised his players and thanked them for their contributions to their World Cup victory.
"Eternal gratitude to these players. Football belongs to them, and without them we wouldn't have won the World Cup,” he emotionally stated.
The full World Cup squad from Qatar attended the match and took pictures with the World Cup trophy before kick-off.
Messi, along with other players and the manager, brought their families to the stadium, adding a personal touch to the historic night.
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