Luis Suarez has surpassed Lionel Messi’s goalscoring record in South American World Cup qualification.
Suarez netted from the penalty spot to bag Uruguay’s fourth goal in their 4-1 win over Venezuela having grabbed the winning goal against Paraguay four days earlier.
There have been concerns over the striker’s form and growing calls for him to lose his place in the Atletico Madrid starting line-up due to his poor showing this campaign, but he has now answered his critics.
Suarez’s goals carried great significance too – as they lifted Uruguay into fourth spot in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualification table with two games remaining, placing them in an automatic qualification spot.
The former Liverpool star has now netted 28 goals in World Cup qualifying, one more than the Paris Saint-Germain forward – although he has played two matches more with 60 games compared to Messi’s 58.
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Messi sat out this international break as he instead focused on playing for Paris Saint-Germain after suffering from Covid – Argentina have already qualified for this year’s World Cup finals in Qatar and allowed their star man to focus on his club fortunes this week.
The Argentine put in another underwhelming performance for Mauricio Pochettino’s side against Nice this week as his team crashed out of the Coupe de France in a penalty shootout after a scoreless draw.
Suarez took full advantage of Messi’s absence to net in both qualification matches for Uruguay and take his former Barcelona teammate’s goal scoring record in the tournament.
Suarez has scored seven La Liga goals this season – a respectable return – but is struggling to find his best output with a recent report claiming he snubbed the chance to join Italian giants Juventus.
The 34-year-old striker had been in a prolonged rut of form, which had seen him net just once in 15 appearances for club and country – a run stretching back to early November – prior to his goal for Uruguay on Friday.
Guatemalan forward Carlos Ruiz has scored more goals than any other player in all World Cup qualifying sections – his 39 goals surpass Cristiano Ronaldo ’s tally of 36.
Iran duo Ali Daei and Karim Bagheri – with 34 and 28 goals respectively – are also in the top five, with Poland marksman Robert Lewandowski currently on 29.
It comes just a month after Messi lost two records; he is no longer in the top three of Barcelona ’s youngest ever scorers and the number of assists in a calendar year.
Messi collected his seventh Ballon d'Or title as he scooped the 2021 accolade last month, but his early form in the French capital has fallen far short of his sky-high expectations.
He has scored just one domestic goal so far for his new club and will be hopeful of hitting top form in the closing months of the campaign.
