Messi nets 60th international assist as Argentina routs Puerto Rico

Lionel Messi set up two goals as Argentina routed Puerto Rico 6-0 at Chase Stadium in Miami on Wednesday, recording his 60th international assist and overtaking Brazil’s Neymar for the most assists in men’s international football. The milestone came in a friendly that also featured several first caps and served as part of Argentina’s preparation for next year’s World Cup.

Messi provided the first assist in the 23rd minute with a pass that led to Gonzalo Montiel’s goal and later set up Lautaro Martinez for a late score to complete his second contribution of the evening. The pair of assists took Messi’s international assist tally to 60 in 194 appearances for Argentina; he has also scored 114 goals for the national team. Neymar’s previous total stood at 59 assists in 128 appearances for Brazil. With the two assists, Messi is recorded as being two shy of 400 career assists across club and country.

Argentina opened the scoring through Alexis Mac Allister and extended the lead before halftime. An own goal by Puerto Rico’s Steven Echevarria and further strikes, including a brace from Martinez, rounded out the scoreline. The match was played at the Inter Miami stadium in Fort Lauderdale...