Lionel Messi made his 193rd appearance for Argentina in the 1-1 draw with Colombia in the World Cup 2026 qualifying contest on Tuesday night.

Although the Albiceleste captain was replaced after 78 minutes with the world champions trailing, a Thiago Almada equaliser three minutes later meant Lionel Scaloni's men avoided a home defeat in the series for a fifth match running, winning four times.

Having already confirmed their participation in next year's global showpiece, Messi and his teammates ended the 16th matchday in CONMEBOL qualifying against Los Cafeteros by extending their unbeaten streak to five, having last lost in November 2024's 2-1 defeat by Paraguay.

After Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier, Sports Mole reflects on Messi’s career record against Colombia.

Lionel Messi's record vs. Colombia

Played: 13

Won: 7

Drawn: 3

Lost: 3

Goals: 3

Assists: 3

Although Messi has scored 112 international goals for the Albiceleste, the legendary forward has often been kept quiet by Colombia.

Despite typically punishing teams, with Bolivia, against whom he has scored 11, his favourite opponents, Messi's three against Colombia rank below 11 other opponents — Bolivia (11), Ecuador (7), Uruguay (6), Brazil, Chile, Estonia, Guatemala, Paraguay and Venezuela (all five), Mexico and Panama (both four).

Indeed, the legendary forward’s modest numbers are reflected in the statistics, which show that the Argentina captain has found the net just three times in 13 appearances against Los Cafeteros; however, the 37-year-old has also registered as many assists, bringing his total to six goal involvements in this fixture.

All 13 matches have taken place in competitive fixtures across World Cup qualifying and six different Copa America editions — 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2021 and 2024.

Interestingly, all three goals and two of Messi’s three assists against the Tricolor have come in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying games, with his first goal in this series scored ahead of the 2010 World Cup in South Africa during a 2-1 loss in Bogota in November 2007.

Messi had to wait four years for his next goal against the Coffee Growers, which came in a 2-1 victory in Barranquilla in November 2011.

The Argentine skipper's last goal against Los Cafeteros was a 3-0 win in mid-November 2016, during the CONMEBOL qualifiers leading to the 2018 World Cup.

After firing blanks on Tuesday night, Messi has now failed to score in his last five appearances against Colombia.