Lionel Messi will make his return to the Argentina side when they travel to Venezuela in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying on Thursday.
It has been three months since Messi limped off in the Copa America final win over Colombia, but the Inter Miami man is back to try to help guide his nation to a 14th straight World Cup finals.
There are few international teams on the planet that have not felt the wrath of Messi at some point across his illustrious career, and Venezuela are no exception, as many of their recent defeats to the Albiceleste have been down to the genius of Argentina's number 10.
Here, Sports Mole goes through the archives to look back on Messi's career record against La Vinotinto.
© Imago
Lionel Messi's record vs. Venezuela
Played: 11
Won: 8
Drawn: 1
Lost: 2
Goals: 5
Assists: 6
Like Argentina in general, Messi has often enjoyed his meetings with Venezuela, even from his first meeting against them all the way back in 2007.
In a World Cup qualifier, Argentina won 2-0, with Messi helping them on their way with a first-half goal, which at the time was just his seventh for the national side.
The reverse fixture ended 4-0 in Argentina's favour 18 months later, with Messi on the scoresheet again in an important victory as the Albiceleste only narrowly qualified for the finals in South Africa.
While Messi's record is largely excellent against Venezuela, he was part of the Argentina XI that suffered the country's first ever defeat against La Vinotinto, losing away from home in 2011, but normal service resumed in the reverse fixture though, as Messi converted a penalty in a 3-0 win, as they once again sealed their place at another World Cup.
One of the more high-profile encounters against Venezuela came at the 2016 Copa America, and as is so often the case on the big stage, Messi shone, setting up two goals and scoring one of his own in a 4-1 quarter-final win.
That goal saw Messi equal Gabriel Batistuta's international goalscoring record of 54, a tally he has since utterly eclipsed, with the Argentina legend now on 109 goals.
Messi briefly struggled to make much of an impact against Venezuela, including in another surprise defeat in 2019, but he netted his fifth career goal against them in the most recent meeting back in 2022, where Argentina won 3-0 on home soil, and it would be no surprise to see him add to his tally this week.
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Argentina
Colombia
Uruguay
Ecuador
Brazil
Venezuela
Paraguay
Bolivia
Chile
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