Lionel Messi has scored 125 goals for Argentina. But there are 15 national teams he has faced and never scored against. Not bad teams either. Some of them are genuinely good. And a couple are just odd scheduling coincidences.
Before we get into it, a quick ground rule: We’re only counting teams Messi has actually played against. So no jokes about him failing to score against the Vatican City or something. He has to have stepped on the field with them.
The ones that make sense
Iceland is probably the most famous one. That penalty save by Hannes Halldórsson in the 2018 World Cup opener is burned into everyone’s memory. Messi also played Iceland in a pre-2026 friendly and only managed an assist. So that’s two games, zero goals, one missed penalty. Not his favorite opponent.
Norway is weird. Messi has never beaten them either. They’ve played twice, both friendlies, and Argentina lost both. He’s got nothing against Norway in the goal column or the win column.
Sweden. One game. A 3-2 friendly win in 2013. Messi played, didn’t score. Goals came from Sergio Agüero, Gonzalo Higuaín and an own goal. That’s it.
The ones that feel like glitches
Hungary. Messi’s senior debut in 2005. He got sent off after 30 seconds for retaliating against a heavy challenge. They’ve never played again. So technically he’s 0 for 1 against them, and he didn’t even get a full game.
Qatar. Two wins for Argentina. Two games for Messi. An assist in a 2005 friendly and a captain’s performance in a 2019 Copa America group stage match. No goals. Just weird.
South Korea. One game, 2010 World Cup. Argentina won 4-1. Messi played 90 minutes, didn’t score. That’s it.
Greece. Two World Cup meetings in 1994 and 2010. Messi only played in the 2010 one. Argentina won 2-0. He wore the armband. No goal.
Republic of Ireland. One friendly after the 2010 World Cup. Ángel Di María scored the winner. Messi played. Nothing.
Costa Rica. Four meetings since 2010, Argentina won all four. Messi only appeared in one: a 2011 Copa America group stage game where he had two assists but no goal.
Trinidad and Tobago. One friendly before the 2014 World Cup. Argentina won comfortably. Messi captained the side and had an assist. No goal.
Belgium. One game, 2014 World Cup quarterfinal. Higuaín scored the only goal. Messi played. Belgium’s Golden Generation went home.
Russia. One friendly in Moscow in 2017. Agüero scored four minutes from time. Messi captained the side. No goal.
Poland. Messi missed a penalty eight minutes into the 2018 World Cup group stage opener. It was his first penalty attempt at a World Cup outside of shootouts. Argentina drew 1-1. The penalty save was the story.
Saudi Arabia. The shock 2-1 win for Saudi Arabia in the 2022 World Cup opener. Messi didn’t score. Argentina recovered to win the whole thing. So he probably doesn’t lose sleep over this one.
Puerto Rico. A 6-0 friendly win in November 2025. Messi had two assists, no goal. It was a warm-up for the World Cup defense.
Mauritania. Another pre-World Cup friendly in 2026. Messi played 45 minutes in a 2-1 win. He didn’t score but reportedly made some Mauritanian players very happy just to share the field.
So there it is. Fifteen teams. Some of them you’d expect. Some of them are just bad luck or limited opportunities. But for a guy with 125 international goals, it’s a pretty short list.
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