Lionel Scaloni, Argentina's head coach, explains why he gave Lionel Messi 90 minutes during their 1-0 win against Paraguay. (0:24).Scaloni: Even when Messi is tired, Scaloni makes the difference (0.24).Lionel Messi, Argentina's most-capped footballer, captained the Albiceleste to a 4-1 victory over Bolivia at Copa America.The Barcelona star is now a 148-times national team member, surpassing Javier Mascherano (147 caps).Copa America bracket schedule and fixturesJavier Zanetti, ex-defender Inter Milan, held the record prior to Mascherano. He completes the podium by making 143 international appearances.Messi scored 75 goals for Argentina and is now the country's leading scorer. He has also surpassed Gabriel Batistuta (54 goal) in 2016.Sergio Aguero, who was awarded his 100th international cap in Bolivia, is ranked third with 42 goals.Last week, Messi turned 34. He has won every game at club level, but has yet to win in senior international football.Although he won the Under-20 World Cup in Brazil in 2005, and the Olympic gold medal with Argentina's Under23s in 2008 respectively, he has also lost four major finals to the first team.Argentina lost to Germany in the 2014 World Cup final. They also lost in the Copa America Final in 2015, 2016 and 2017.While Messi is focusing on the win of a major trophy for his country, Barca's future remains uncertain.His contract with the club is due to expire on Wednesday. If no new agreement is reached before then, he will officially become a free agent on Friday.Barca is working hard to reach a deal over a new contract, and they are optimistic that he will continue his 20-year relationship.
