Argentina striker Lionel Messi scored five goals in a 5-0 friendly win over Estonia on Sunday, a result which helped him overtake Hungary’s great Ferenc Puskas among the all-time international top scorers.

The former Barcelona player got to shine once more on Spanish soil in a match played at the El Sadar stadium in the northern city of Pamplona, 430 kilometres from what for 21 years he called home.

Messi, who has now netted 86 times in 162 games on international duty, opened the scoring with a penalty kick in the eighth minute as he waited for goalkeeper Matvei Igonen to commit before firing the ball into the bottom right corner. The 34-year-old doubled Argentina’s lead just before half-time, adding another goal two minutes into the second half. He sealed the score with two more strikes in the 71st and 76th minutes.

The Argentina captain caught up and left behind the former Hungary and — on four occasions — Spain forward, who scored 84 goals in 89 games. Messi is now three goals behind former Malaysia forward Mokhtar Dahari, in third. Iran’s Ali Daei (109) is second, while Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo remains first with 117 goals.

The Paris St Germain forward also became the first player to have netted five times in both a single European Cup or Champions League clash and in an international match on a senior level.

Neymar scores

Neymar’s penalty 13 minutes from time earned Brazil a 1-0 win over fellow World Cup qualifiers Japan at Tokyo’s National Stadium on Monday as the PSG striker moved to within three goals of Pele’s all-time national scoring record.

The forward coolly slotted the ball past Shuichi Gonda to hit his 74th goal in 119 internationals after being frustrated on several occasions by the Japanese goalkeeper in front of a rain-soaked crowd of 63,638 fans.

Brazil’s win came off the back of their 5-1 thrashing of South Korea on Thursday as Tite’s side prepare for the World Cup.