Messi Delivers 1 Goal and 1 Assist vs Angola, Reaching Goals in 33 of the 51 Countries He Has Played In

Analysis by Hikaru Sakamoto

Argentina faced Angola in an international friendly on the 14th, where Lionel Messi (Inter Miami / MLS) delivered a goal and an assist.
The match was held in Luanda, the Angolan capital, as part of the celebrations for the country’s 50th Independence anniversary.

Argentina struggled at times against Angola’s physicality, the poor pitch conditions, and temperatures that exceeded 30°C.
Still, in the 43rd minute, Lautaro Martínez (Inter / Italy) latched onto Messi’s through ball to open the scoring.

In the 82nd minute, the roles reversed—this time Lautaro set up Messi, who calmly added Argentina’s second to seal a 2–0 win in their final match of the year.

According to Argentine outlet Olé, Angola became the 51st country Messi has played in over the course of his career. Remarkably, he has now scored in 33 of those 51 nations, combining both club and national team matches.
The list of countries he has visited is shown below.

The Bigger Picture

Watching Lionel Messi score in Angola felt less like a routine friendly and more like another chapter in a global phenomenon that has long outgrown results, opponents, or even context. From Luanda to Miami, from Europe to the Caribbean, Messi’s presence continues to distort the usual boundaries of football loyalty. Looking at fan reactions, what stands out is not just admiration, but the emotional conflict he creates: the tension between wanting to see history with your own eyes and wanting your own team to survive the moment.

This match, marking Messi’s 33rd goal in his 51st country played, reinforced an old truth in a new setting. For many supporters around the world, especially outside traditional football centers, seeing Messi live is not about club allegiance or national pride. It is about proximity to an era. The reactions drift quickly from Angola to Toronto, Paris, Kingston, and Vancouver, revealing how Messi’s gravity reshapes stadiums, crowds, and even expectations of what a match is supposed to be.

At the same time, the conversation is not entirely worshipful. There is fatigue, pushback, and even resentment mixed into the awe. That balance — reverence without unanimity — defines where Messi sits now: not just as a player nearing the twilight of his career, but as a shared global reference point that fans still argue over, passionately and personally.

Fan Reactions

• I kinda wonder how the Angolan players feel when their own home crowd cheers louder for the opponent’s goal.
• It’s Messi, man. No international fan cares who he’s playing against.
• He scored in Jamaica once and the whole stadium went crazy like he was one of their players.
• If you don’t live in the US or Spain, seeing a Messi goal live is like a once-in-a-lifetime experience.
• Inter Miami vs Toronto — the crowd in Toronto lost their minds every time he touched the ball.
• When Miami came to Vancouver, ticket resellers absolutely panicked when it was announced Messi wasn’t playing.
• They were stuck with insanely overpriced tickets.
• That’s hilarious. Justice.
• The whole city completely melted down.
• It was like two months before Copa America and people were shocked Messi and Suárez didn’t want to play a random MLS game on an artificial pitch.
• To be fair though, the Whitecaps did smash Miami earlier this year when the whole squad actually showed up.
• Got any links? I wanna see the meltdown.
• The guys sitting next to me said the same thing — the internal struggle between “I wanna see a Messi goal” and “our keeper is having a man-of-the-match performance shutting Messi down” was brutal.
• What got me was hundreds of people filming a Messi corner. The only time I turned my camera on was for that free kick because the angle was perfect.
• People love saying he wasn’t liked in Paris, but nah, the stadium woke up every single time he touched the ball.
• I brought a friend in Paris who said he didn’t care. Messi scored a free kick and the guy literally cried.
• Exactly.
• I watched Inter Miami vs Colorado last year. A whole visiting family wearing Rapids jerseys was chanting “WE WANT MESSI.”
• I’ve been to two Messi matches — one in Miami and one in Toronto. He didn’t score in either. Sean Johnson ruined both nights.
• He got booed loudly in Vancouver, but at the same time people were absolutely worshipping him. Total chaos.
• At least in the Leagues Cup final there was some booing. Helps that he got shut down and Miami lost 3–0.
• I get the hype, but when I saw him against NYCFC it was honestly uncomfortable. The level of adoration was wild.
• That’s how it is with all-time greats. Kobe’s last season had every arena cheering him.
• Still annoying. Most of those people don’t even care about the match. Just celebrity chasing.
• “No international fan cares” — I disagree.
• Flair checks out.
• Fair enough.
• Me when Messi scores: pure joy. Me when Messi scores against Brazil: stone face.
• He had Brazilians cheering for him at the last World Cup. We’ll never see another Argentine with that kind of influence there.
• As a Cuiabá fan, I’d honestly love to see him get the full Neymar treatment.
• When Inter Miami played in Kingston, it was on another level. Government officials showed up, people flew in from all over the Caribbean.
• It’s even crazier considering he’s near the end of his career. Back in his prime, one of our players literally bowed to him.
• The one time I saw him live was against Nigeria in 2018. I was in pain when he scored.
• We had a blast booing him in Vancouver. People were still mad about the no-show the year before.
• Vancouver gets two chances a year with travel. Outside the US, you just have to get lucky.
• Lautaro’s connection with Messi is the best it’s ever been. He’s 100% the starter for me now.
• Lautaro is an absolute gem. Relentless pressing, relentless work rate. Honestly, why not both him and Julián with Messi behind them?
• Aside from the World Cup injury, Lautaro’s almost always been solid for Argentina. The best setup might be Julián first, then Lautaro later.
• Lautaro presses just as much as Julián. Stop repeating that nonsense.
• Julián might be the best pressing forward on the planet right now.
• 895 goals now for the GOAT. Surely he hits 900 this year.
• He’s got maybe one to three games left depending on results.
• If Miami makes the final, it’s totally doable. Because, well, it’s Messi.
• But MLS playoffs are weird. Best-of-three here, single elimination there.
• Five goals in the semis and final? Probably not.
• Three games left — conference semi, conference final, MLS Cup. Doable for a brace merchant.
• Only if they get past Cincinnati first.
• Five goals against Cincinnati? Yeah, right.
• No, the semifinals aren’t two legs. Our playoffs are strange like that.

What Remains

What remains after this quiet 2–0 win in Luanda is not the scoreline, but the way Messi continues to bend football culture around him. From the fans’ perspective, joy, frustration, pride, and irritation all coexist in the same breath. He is celebrated, booed, filmed, debated, and calculated — sometimes all in the same stadium.

This is what Messi has become in this phase of his career: less a participant in isolated matches, more a moving landmark in football history. Each appearance is measured not just by goals or assists, but by memories formed, expectations clashed, and emotions stirred. Angola was simply the latest stop in that long, shared journey — one that fans around the world are still trying to process, even as it slowly moves toward its end.

Source:
Reuters
https://www.reuters.com/sports/soccer/messi-martinez-combine-argentina-sink-angola-luanda-2025-11-14/?utm_source=chatgpt.com