The cancellation of the Finalissima left both Spain and Argentina scrambling to fill their schedules for the FIFA international window. The Albiceleste have taken the chance to keep facing lower-ranked opponents.
Lionel Scaloni's world champions are set to host Mauritania and Zambia at La Bombonera. These fixtures against significantly weaker sides are expected to provide Messi with a prime opportunity to swell his international goal tally. In doing so, he will look to chip away at the lead held by Cristiano Ronaldo, who is sidelined for this window through injury and currently sits on 144 goals for the Portuguese national team.
Should the Inter Miami playmaker find the net against both nations, he will also narrow the deficit in another category dominated by the legendary duo: the record for goals scored against the highest number of different countries.
The Portuguese icon has amassed his 144 goals against 48 different opponents, while Messi's record for Argentina stands at 115 goals (29 behind) against 39 opponents (nine behind). The former Barcelona talisman could, therefore, increase his 'victim' list to 41 countries by the end of this FIFA window.
Among active players with at least 40 international goals and 33 different opponents, Cristiano Ronaldo leads the global standings with 48. Heading into this break, Messi and Robert Lewandowski were deadlocked on 39.
While the Argentine can add two to his tally, the Polish marksman cannot extend his record, as although he scored in Poland’s 2-1 victory over Albania, he had already scored against them, as he had against Sweden, his national team’s next opponents on Tuesday in their bid to secure a place at the World Cup.
Following this elite top three, Romelu Lukaku has struck against 37 national teams, but with fixtures against Mexico and the United States - both of whom he has already scored against - the Belgian will not be adding to his list. Conversely, Son Heung-Min, currently on 35 opponents, has the chance to improve his standing as he faces Austria and Ivory Coast, two nations yet to concede to the South Korea star.
Harry Kane finds himself in a similar position, having netted against 34 countries throughout his career. However, his chances of climbing the rankings have been hampered by Tuchel ruling him out of the opener against Uruguay, leaving the England captain with only Japan as a potential new addition to his list of 'victims'.
Rounding off this top 10 are two players tied on 33 different opponents: Andriy Yarmolenko and Mohamed Salah. Edin Dzeko, meanwhile, has already played in this international break against Wales and took the opportunity to score, bringing his total to 34 different opponents, level with Harry Kane.