Los Angeles Angels two-way star Shohei Ohtani continued his red-hot form with his 26th homer of the season in a 5-3 win over the slumping New York Yankees.
Ohtani moved into a tie with Toronto Blue Jays sensation Vladimir Guerrero Jr. for the most home runs this MLB season on Monday.
After going 0 for nine in his previous appearances at Yankee Stadium, Ohtani recorded his first career hit at the venue thanks to his powerful opening-inning homer.
Ohtani – who is scheduled to pitch on Wednesday – now has nine homers in his last 12 games.
"That definitely sent a message," Angels manager Joe Maddon said. "He's so easy to speak to during the game. He never gets upset. He never loses focus.
"He's able to turn the page to the next one. But yeah, that was just the right way to start his trip to New York, with him hitting a home run."
The loss condemned the Yankees to a fourth consecutive defeat following their series sweep at the hands of bitter rivals the Boston Red Sox.
Schwarber's historic night
The Washington Nationals topped the New York Mets 8-4 thanks to Kyle Schwarber, who homered twice. He became the first player in MLB history to hit 15 home runs in a 17-day span, according to Stats Perform.
Schwarber and Trea Turner went back-to-back to open the game for the Nationals. Mookie Betts and Max Muncy did the same thing for the Los Angeles Dodgers in their 3-2 win over rivals the San Francisco Giants. According to Stats Perform, it is the first time in major league history that two teams have started a game with back-to-back home runs on the same day.
Manning mauled in Cleveland
Matt Manning was rocked for nine runs in the Detroit Tigers' 13-5 loss to the Cleveland Indians. The Tigers pitcher allowed nine hits and two home runs across 3.2 innings, while striking out just two batters.
As the Milwaukee Brewers celebrated a sixth successive win, the Chicago Cubs were left to pick up the pieces following a 14-4 demolition. The Cubs allowed 10 runs in the eighth inning. Trevor Megill was tagged for a three-run homer in the outburst. He gave up four hits, six runs, two homers and two walks in less than an inning.
Castellanos slam
The Cincinnati Reds crushed the Philadelphia Phillies 12-4. Nick Castellanos hit a grand slam in the seventh inning. He finished with three hits and a career-high seven RBIs. Tyler Naquin, Jesse Winker and Castellanos have all had six-plus RBI in a game for the Reds this season. Cincinnati are the first MLB team ever to have three different outfielders with a six-RBI game before the All-Star break, according to Stats Perform.
Monday's results
Colorado Rockies 2-0 Pittsburgh Pirates
Cincinnati Reds 12-4 Philadelphia Phillies
Los Angeles Angels 5-3 New York Yankees
Washington Nationals 8-4 New York Mets
Cleveland Indians 13-5 Detroit Tigers
Boston Red Sox 6-5 Kansas City Royals
Baltimore Orioles 9-7 Houston Astros
Milwaukee Brewers 14-4 Chicago Cubs
St Louis Cardinals 7-1 Arizona Diamondbacks
Los Angeles Dodgers 3-2 San Francisco Giants
Minnesota Twins-Chicago White Sox (postponed)
Twins at White Sox
After Monday's game was postponed, the White Sox (45-32) will host the Twins (33-43) in Tuesday's all-American League (AL) Central clash. Lucas Giolito starts for the White Sox as the Twins counter with Kenta Maeda.
Los Angeles Clippers head coach Tyronn Lue does not understand the criticism of Paul George after the star helped the team avoid elimination from the NBA playoffs with a 116-102 win over the Phoenix Suns.
George scored a career postseason-high 41 points, including 30 in the second half, in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals as the Clippers stayed alive in the postseason series on Monday.
The 31-year-old stepped up when the Clippers were challenged in the third quarter, with second-seeded Phoenix hitting the lead briefly, as George hit back with 20 third-quarter points.
George became the first player in Clippers history to record 40-plus points, 10-plus rebounds and five-plus assists in a postseason game, while also becoming the first player in NBA history to have 40-plus points on at least 75 per cent field-goal shooting, 50 per cent three-point shooting and 100 free-throw shooting in a playoff contest.
HE is also the third player since the 1996-97 since to score 30-plus points on 80 per cent shooting or better in the second half of a postseason game, joining Anthony Davis (2020) and Dwyane Wade (2010).
George has been criticised in the past and has missed some key free-throws against the Suns, but he has been the Clippers' top scorer in all five games this series in the absence of Kawhi Leonard (knee), while he led all three categories – points, rebounds and assists, for the second successive game for the fourth seeds.
"I just don't understand why it's magnified so much when he has a bad game, when he doesn't play well," Lue said during his post-game news conference.
"A lot of people play bad. Like I said, I'm just happy he came back, played a great game, we needed every bit of it."
George has put up at least 20 points in all 18 games he has played this season. The only other players in NBA history to have at least 20 points in their first 18 games of a single playoff campaign are Michael Jordan, Kobe Bryant and Kevin Durant.
Lue added: "That's what great players do. You always bounce back, if you have a rough game.
"Our team needed it… We fed off Marcus' [Morris Snr] momentum in the first half. Every time they made a run, we responded."
The Clippers have already come from behind to win two series this postseason, triumphing 4-3 over the Dallas Mavericks after trailing 2-0, while they won four straight games against the top-seeded Utah Jazz, having been down 2-0.
Lue and the Clippers would need to win three straight games to overcome the Suns, having trailed 3-1 but they can level the series in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
A championship-winning coach with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Lue moved to a 10-2 coaching record when his side is facing elimination, but preferred to focus on his players who he labelled "resilient".
"It's been all season long," Lue said. "Guys have been out, different guys are stepping up and playing well.
"I keep saying the same word resilient but this group is. We got a gritty win without three starters, we gotta do it again two more times."
He added: "It is fun. I was just talking to our team about not winning three games but winning each quarter. The journey is too long if you think about three games, six days. I thought our guys came out with that mindset, we won three of four quarters."
Usain Bolt charged into history in Beijing, Bob Beamon took one giant leap for mankind in Mexico City, and Florence Griffith-Joyner stunned millions with her Seoul sprint spectacular.
World records in track and field are always special achievements, but athletes take it to the next level when they produce such performances on the Olympic stage, with hundreds of millions of eyes watching across the globe.
At the Tokyo 2020 Games, expect records to tumble, but others will be far from easy to shift from the record books.
Here, Stats Perform assesses five Olympic records that look set to survive the Tokyo test, and five that look distinctly vulnerable.
FIVE TO SURVIVE
Men's 200 metres: USAIN BOLT, 19.30 seconds (Beijing Olympics, 2008)
As well as this 200m mark, the likelihood is that Bolt's 100m Games record of 9.63 from the London Olympics will be untouchable too. That is despite his Olympic bests being narrowly outside the world records he owns for both sprints (9.58 and 19.19). The 200m Olympic record certainly looks locked in to remain intact after Tokyo, with nobody threatening to go remotely close this season, at the time of writing in late June. Just like when he set Olympic high watermarks in the Bird's Nest Stadium – running what were then world records in the 100m and 200m – Bolt remains streets ahead of the rest.
Men's long jump: BOB BEAMON, 8.90 metres (Mexico City, 1968)
The most famous of all athletics records, Beamon leapt into sporting legend in 1968 with the jump that toppled the previous world record by an astonishing 55 centimetres. Before that, in 33 years the record had only been nudged on by 22 centimetres. Beamon's world record has gone now, broken by Mike Powell who cleared 8.95m at the 1991 World Championship, but he still owns the second longest leap and the Olympic record. This is no golden age for long-jumping, and it would send tremors through the sporting world if Beamon's mark could be beaten.
Women's 200m: FLORENCE GRIFFITH-JOYNER, 21.34 seconds (Seoul, 1988)
American Griffith-Joyner brought her unique brand of glamour to the world stage and had eyes popping with her staggering summer of success 33 years ago. She wiped an incredible 0.27 seconds off the 100m world record when clocking 10.49secs at the US Olympic trials, and at the Games in Seoul she doubled up, setting a 200m global best with a run of 21.56s in the semi-finals before going even quicker still in the final.
Women's 800m: NADEZHDA OLIZARENKO, one minute 53.43 seconds (Moscow, 1980)
This came in a world-record run, as Olizarenko led a popular Soviet Union 1-2-3 in the two-lap dash. The current world record, just 0.15secs quicker than Olizarenko's time, was set three years later. Olizarenko died in 2017, but her Olympic record looks set to stay in the history books for years to come, particularly given Caster Semenya will be absent in Tokyo.
Women's heptathlon: JACKIE JOYNER-KERSEE, 7,291 points (Seoul, 1988)
American all-rounder Joyner-Kersee enjoyed staggering success in the 1980s as she pushed the standards of the heptathlon to still-unprecedented levels. Her world-record total from Seoul has looked unbeatable ever since, given no other athlete has come within 250 points. Joyner-Kersee also won gold in the long jump at the same 1988 Olympics with a Games record of 7.40m that also remains to this day and is likely to continue standing the test of time for many years to come.
FIVE TO FALL
Men's 1,500m: NOAH NGENY, 3:32.07 (Sydney, 2000)
This mark looks ripe to be broken, given the men's world record is 3:26:00, yet it continues to stand to this day. In 2019, the last normal year for athletics before the pandemic proved so disruptive, this Olympic best was bettered 31 times over the season. But the 1,500m is not a sprint and tactical racing is a familiar slowing factor over middle distance in the Olympics, with all eyes on the prize rather than the clock. An outright race, without any early teasing and slow-going, could see this record crushed. The men's 1,500m record last fell at the 1960 Rome Olympics, to Herb Elliott (3:35.6), and it feels ripe to go again.
Men's pole vault: THIAGO BRAZ, 6.03m (Rio, 2016)
Braz was a highly popular winner in his native Brazil five years ago, setting a Games record to boot. It would be a major shock if anyone but Armand Duplantis carried off the gold this year, with the American-born Swedish athlete the clear class act in the field. He had a 6.10m clearance in Hengelo in early June, and last year he went over 6.18m indoors. Unless he buckles under the pressure of the Olympics, Duplantis looks good to walk away with gold and a Games record.
Men's javelin: ANDREAS THORKILDSEN, 90.57m (Beijing, 2008)
Possibly the likeliest of all the athletics records to be beaten, Thorkildsen's gold-winning effort from the Bird's Nest is surely about to be overtaken. Germany's Johannes Vetter had a throw of 96.29m in May, when he hurled the javelin over 90 metres five times in one six-throw competition. The odd one out in that supreme performance was a world-class 87.27, confirming Vetter as the man to beat.
Women's 100m: FLORENCE GRIFFITH-JOYNER, 10.62 seconds (Seoul, 1988)
Although 'Flo-Jo' clocked 10.54s in the 1988 Olympic final, that was a wind-assisted run and is not considered a Games record. Which means it is this 10.62 – set, stupendously, in the heats – that is the target. For years it has looked out of reach, but then Shelly-Ann Fraser-Pryce ran 10.63 in Kingston in June, and suddenly it no longer appears quite so insurmountable. Griffith-Joyner died in 1998 after an epileptic seizure, and over 20 years later her records are still being chased by the sprint elite.
Women's triple jump: FRANCOISE MBANGO ETONE, 15.39m (Beijing, 2008)
Cameroonian athlete Etone won gold in Athens and four years later in Beijing, setting the current Olympic record in the Chinese capital. That mark is the fourth furthest achieved in history by a woman; however, Yulimar Rojas of Venezuela has two of the top three triple jumps on that list, and she will be a red-hot favourite for the gold medal. The 25-year-old had a 15.43m effort in May, illustrating she is in shape for a record tilt.
When it comes to Lionel Messi, there are not enough superlatives to describe his brilliance.
That was the case following Messi's magical performance in his record-breaking appearance for Argentina.
Two goals and one unbelievable assist to guide Argentina to a 4-1 rout of Bolivia at the Copa America on Monday.
Three goal involvements all in 45-minutes work for Messi, who shattered another record with his 148th international cap, surpassing former team-mate Javier Mascherano.
Already La Albiceleste's all-time leading scorer, it was Messi's first brace for Argentina in 18 games, dating back to August 2019. The 34-year-old also recorded his second two-goal outing in a Copa fixture.
Messi improved his international tally to 75, while netting his 11th and 12th career Copa goals – the fourth-highest scorer for Argentina at the showpiece CONMEBOL tournament.
At this stage of his remarkable career, no one should be surprised by the six-time Ballon d'Or winner.
However, Messi was simply incredible from the outset in a merciless display in the final Group A fixture in Cuiaba.
Messi – who has not missed a minute of Argentina's four Copa games in 2021 so far – broke the internet in the sixth minute.
Angel Correa's turn outside the penalty area sparked the move as the ball found the feet of Messi.
Messi's back was towards goal, while the superstar captain was surrounded by at least three Bolivia defenders. But, we know how this movie ends.
He somehow scooped the ball to Alejandro Gomez and the evergreen veteran finished on the volley to cap an irresistible passage of play.
A Messi penalty followed just past the half-hour mark – the 34-year-old converting the spot-kick to get in on the action.
What happened next was even better.
Close friend Sergio Aguero, who will unite with Messi at Barcelona in 2021-22, was the architect. Manchester City's all-time leading goalscorer playing a throughball approaching half-time.
Messi beat the offside trap and beat Bolivia goalkeeper Carlos Lampe with a superb lob in the 42nd minute.
If not for Lampe's heroics, Messi – who completed a game-high 63 passes in the opponent's half while attempting four shots on target (a Copa record) – would have finished the match with more than a hat-trick.
Regardless, it was a special display as Argentina extended their unbeaten streak to 17 matches (W10 D7) under Lionel Scaloni – the joint-third longest undefeated sequence of a coach in the country's history, alongside Guillermo Stabile.
While Messi still covets an elusive international crown with Argentina, the famous number 10 celebrated his latest milestone only he knows how.
Paul George posted a playoff career-high 41 points as the Los Angeles Clippers avoided elimination with a 116-102 win over the Phoenix Suns in Game 5 of the Western Conference Finals.
George flexed his muscles away from home on Monday and in the absence of star team-mate Kawhi Leonard, scoring 30 second-half points to keep the series alive against the second-seeded Suns.
The win means the Clippers, who have come from behind to triumph in their past two playoffs series, trail the Suns 3-2 in the matchup ahead of Game 6 back in Los Angeles on Wednesday.
George and the Clippers had led at half-time for the first time in the series, up 59-52, but the Suns earned a 62-61 lead before the visitors launched a 10-0 run and never looked back.
Clippers star George entered the must-win game as the fourth player in NBA history to score 20-plus points in each of his first 17 games of a single postseason, joining Michael Jordan (1991, 1992, 1997, 1998), Kobe Bryant (2008) and Kevin Durant (2012 and 2018).
George also had 13 rebounds and six assists, dominating for the fourth-seeded Clippers, who were without injured pair Leonard and Ivica Zubac.
The Clippers continued their resilient playoff campaign, having trailed 2-0 against the Dallas Mavericks in the first round before winning 4-3, while they won four games in a row against the top-seeded Utah Jazz in the Western Conference semi-finals, having fallen 2-0 behind.
The Suns refused to surrender, with Devin Booker scoring 31 points and Chris Paul contributing 22 of his own, but the Clippers always had an answer to silence the home crowd.
George, who shot 15-from-20 from the field for the game, had good support from Reggie Jackson (23 points, including four three-pointers), while Marcus Morris Sr. finished with 22 points after scoring 20 in the first half.
The Clippers dominated with 34-8 first-half points in the paint and 58-32 for the game.
Suns center Deandre Ayton could not capitalise on Zubac's absence, only managing 10 points and 11 rebounds.
Paul missed all six three-point attempts for Phoenix, while he had eight assists.
Bucks at Hawks
The Milwaukee Bucks can claim a 3-1 lead over the Atlanta Hawks when they visit State Farm Arena for Game 4 of the Eastern Conference Finals on Tuesday.
Germany head coach Joachim Low is embracing the "captivating" history between his side and England ahead of their blockbuster Euro 2020 last-16 showdown at Wembley on Tuesday.
Low's Die Mannschaft have won the past four encounters against England in knockout matches at major tournaments, although the Three Lions beat West Germany in the 1966 World Cup final.
This will be the 13th meeting between England and Germany at Wembley. England won four of the first five such games (L1), including the 1966 World Cup final, but are winless in their previous seven against Germany at the national stadium (D2 L5).
Low was in charge when German defeated England 4-1 at the 2010 World Cup in the round of 16, while current England manager Gareth Southgate missed a penalty as the Three Lions lost 6-5 in a shoot-out at Wembley in the Euro 1996 semi-finals.
"I think all the matches between England and Germany you talk about for years after," Low said. "This is a fixture that captivates everyone. It's an all-or-nothing game for both teams.
"The excitement goes without saying I can feel the players are highly motivated and we have analysed the English side.
"We are looking forward to this great encounter and a great evening ahead."
Low has led Germany since 2006, winning the 2014 World Cup, and will finish up his tenure at the end of Euro 2020, yet he said he has barely thought about the England match being his last in charge.
"All in all I thought about it two seconds," Low said. "I don't think about it because I have so many other thoughts in my head.
"This is my passion. My whole focus is on the match tomorrow night and I hope we will succeed."
Low has a few selection headaches with injury concerns over Antonio Rudiger, Robin Gosens and Ilkay Gundogan, although he said the final decision will be made on the day of the match.
The Germany boss was also full of praise for England, including Premier League Golden Boot winner Harry Kane – who has had an underwhelming Euro 2020 campaign with no goals.
"Of course we have to be focused," Low said. "Look at Harry Kane and the level that he plays. He can score goals out of every situation.
"This is his skills, his qualities. He has all of them. He is both footed, he is very good in the air. He can protect the ball very well.
"But England also has [Raheem] Sterling, [Phil] Foden, Mason Mount maybe. They have a lot of strong offensive players, attacking players with [Jadon] Sancho as well and [Marcus] Rashford."
Germany have reached at least the semi-final in each of the last three editions of the European Championship. Indeed, since the tournament was expanded in 1996, they have reached at least the last four of the competition each time they have progressed to the knockout stages.
Die Mannschaft have conceded at least once in each of their previous eight matches at major tournaments (Euros and World Cup), since a 3-0 win against Slovakia at this stage of Euro 2016. Only once have had they had a longer run without a major tournament clean sheet, which was in their first nine World Cup matches between 1934 and 1954.
Edinson Cavani's 21st-minute penalty lifted Uruguay into second spot in Group A and booked a quarter-final date with Colombia after a 1-0 win over Paraguay at the Copa America on Monday.
In the final group game, Manchester United forward Cavani's goal moved Uruguay up from fourth to second position, avoiding a last-16 meeting with hosts and defending champions Brazil.
Paraguay came into the contest hoping to claim their first Copa win against Uruguay since 1947, with an outside chance of topping Group A, but instead slipped to third and will next face Peru.
To make matters worse for La Albirroja, influential Paraguay midfielder Miguel Almiron limped off, placing his quarter-final availability in doubt.
Uruguay needed to avoid defeat to ensure they would not face Group B winners Brazil in the quarters and started with intent as Cavani headed wide in the third minute, while team-mate Giorgian De Arrascaeta grazed the post moments later.
La Celeste won a penalty following a clumsy challenge from Angel Romero as Cavani emphatically hammered the spot-kick past Paraguay goalkeeper Antony Silva.
Uruguay continued to dominate as Nicolas De La Cruz went on a superb run, beating two opponents, before laying off for Cavani, whose dangerous cutback across goal was cleared by Omar Alderete.
Almiron went off injured on the half-hour mark, before Uruguay thought they had a second via Matias Vecino, although it was disallowed with Cavani offside in the build-up.
Paraguay had a goal disallowed early in the second half too, when an offside Oscar Romero nodded home.
Luis Suarez replaced Cavani in the 68th minute and should have made it 2-0 when he broke clear alongside Rodrigo Bentancur but the pair got their wires crossed.
Lionel Messi produced a masterclass with two goals and an assist as he made history in Argentina's 4-1 victory over Bolivia at the Copa America.
Messi became Argentina's all-time record appearances holder after surpassing former team-mate Javier Mascherano with his 148th international cap in Cuiaba on Monday.
On the field, Messi was in magical form as he scored twice to take his internationally tally to 75, while creating the opener in a devastating first-half display in Argentina's final Group A fixture.
Messi somehow scooped the ball to Alejandro Gomez, who finished on the volley in the sixth minute, before the six-time Ballon d'Or winner stepped up to covert a 33rd-minute penalty and then beat Carlos Lampe with a superb lob nine minutes later.
Erwin Saavedra pulled a goal back for Bolivia in the 60th minute but Lautaro Martinez came off the bench and restored the three-goal advantage minutes later as Argentina sealed top spot to set up a quarter-final showdown against Ecuador.
Argentina were in control against a Bolivia team already eliminated, forcing a superb double-save from goalkeeper Lampe, who showed amazing agility to thwart Sergio Aguero and Angel Correa in the third minute.
Messi took centre stage as Argentina broke the deadlock – the superstar captain providing a highlight moment with a memorable assist as he had his back towards goal while teeing up in-form team-mate Gomez.
Bolivia's Diego Bejarano was penalised for a foul on Gomez inside the box after the half-hour mark and Messi made no mistake with the spot-kick.
After Franco Armani was called into action following a long-range effort from Jeyson Chura, Messi put Argentina 3-0 ahead courtesy of a perfectly chipped shot over Lampe prior to the interval, having been played through by Aguero.
Some complacency crept into Argentina's game in the second half and it was punished by Bolivia on the hour mark after Saavedra finished clinically into the roof of the net following Leonel Justiniano's driving run to the byline.
Martinez was only on the pitch for two minutes when he netted Argentina's fourth goal in the 65th minute and the merciless South American powerhouse should have had more, if not for the efforts of Lampe during the closing stages.
Kylian Mbappe apologised for his failed penalty as France crashed out of Euro 2020 at the hands of Switzerland, with the star insisting he has sleepless nights ahead.
Mbappe had his spot-kick saved by Yann Sommer, whose heroics lifted Switzerland to a shock 5-4 penalty shoot-out victory against world champions France in the last 16 on Monday.
France had rallied to a 3-1 lead with 15 minutes of regulation time remaining after falling behind early to Switzerland in Bucharest, where Les Bleus used Karim Benzema's quick-fire brace and Paul Pogba's stunner to turn the match on its head.
Switzerland, who saw Ricardo Rodriguez's penalty saved for a chance to move 2-0 clear early in the second half, sensationally forced extra time thanks to Haris Seferovic's second goal and Mario Gavranovic's last-gasp strike.
Mbappe was involved in the decisive moment, his penalty kept out by Sommer as France failed to reach the quarter-final stage of a major tournament (European Champion and World Cup) for the first time since the 2010 World Cup.
"Very difficult to turn the page," Mbappe – who has had more shots (14) without scoring than any other player at Euro 2020 – said in a post shared on Instagram. "The sadness is immense after this elimination, we were not able to achieve our objective.
"I am sorry for this penalty. I wanted to help the team but I failed. It will be hard to sleep but sadly these are the risks of this sport that I love so much.
"I know that you the fans are disappointed, but I would still like to thank you for your support and for having always believed in us.
"The most important thing will be to get up even stronger for the challenges to come. Congratulations and good luck to Switzerland."
Didier Deschamps' France have been eliminated in their last three games in which they played extra time in major tournaments (Euros and World Cup), as many as in their first 11.
France captain and goalkeeper Hugo Lloris told beIN SPORTS: "We win together, we lose together. We are all responsible for being eliminated at this stage of the competition.
"There is no pointing fingers. We had to deal with injuries, but we have no right to make excuses. This is a competition.
"We gave everything, we left it all out on the pitch. Penalties are a lottery. We did not have the luck.
"We will now need to manage the pain. At 3-1 we should have been able to close the match out. But this is football, this is why we love it, this is why it hurts. Tonight hurts a lot."
Lionel Messi has made history with Argentina, becoming the country's all-time record appearances holder in the Copa America clash against Bolivia.
Messi was named in the starting line-up for Argentina's final Group A fixture on Monday, surpassing former team-mate Javier Mascherano with his 148th international cap.
Argentina captain Messi is still chasing an elusive major honour in international colours, a fact somewhat at odds with his gloriously decorated career at LaLiga powerhouse Barcelona.
Nevertheless, as he represents La Albiceleste for the 148th time, the 34-year-old should also reflect upon a brilliant body of work, where he has typically set new standards – most notably standing as Argentina's all-time record goalscorer with 73.
Here, Stats Perform takes a look at Messi's Argentina career in numbers.
CONMEBOL'S SCHOOL OF HARD KNOCKS
In the eternal argument between fans of Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo, the Portugal superstar's international record is sometimes held up as a point of difference.
Ronaldo pulled level with Ali Daei's all-time record of 109 goals for his country during the reigning European champions' 2-2 draw with France at Euro 2020 last week.
But there are a collection of "gimme" opponents afforded to Ronaldo within the European qualifiers that Messi simply does not enjoy.
The arduous CONMEBOL World Cup qualification marathon means plenty of his Argentina caps have arrived against high-quality opposition.
The highest proportion of his caps have come in South American World Cup qualifiers, where he has featured 50 times. This is set against 30 Copa outings, 19 appearances at the World Cup and 47 caps in international friendlies.
HIGH FIVES, BRILLIANT TREBLES
Argentina's bitter rivals Brazil, Paraguay and their 2015 and 2016 Copa America final tormentors Chile have faced up to Messi more than any other nation.
He has played them all 11 times, scoring five goals versus each. Against Bolivia, he will be aiming to improve upon a record of three goals from nine outings, with La Paz's sapping altitude pleasingly not a factor for Messi on this occasion.
Three of those strikes versus Brazil came in one sparkling 4-3 friendly win at New Jersey's MetLife Stadium in 2012.
Overall, he has six international hat-tricks and none more telling than the sensational salvo to secure a 3-1 win away to Ecuador that virtually single-handedly dragged Argentina to Russia 2018.
NIGHTMARE START AND OTHER MILESTONES
Messi's extended run at the summit of world football was not so easy to predict when he marked his Argentina debut from the bench against Hungary in Budapest in 2005 with a red card almost immediately after coming on.
His first goal came against Croatia in Basel on cap number six, while the otherwise forgettable 2010 World Cup quarter-final defeat to Germany in Cape Town was Messi's 50th cap.
Cap 100 came against guest participants Jamaica in the 2015 Copa America, a campaign that ended in now familiar disappointment.
Luis Enrique believes any national team in the world would gladly have Alvaro Morata in their line-up after helping Spain reach the Euro 2020 quarter-finals.
Spain forward Morata put patchy form in front of goal behind him to fire a brilliant extra-time strike and re-establish La Roja's lead in Copenhagen on Monday, en route to a thrilling 5-3 last-16 win over Croatia.
Before the match, Luis Enrique branded abuse and threats directed towards Morata and his family as "criminal" and urged the police to take action.
After a breathless encounter at Parken Stadium, which Spain led 3-1 with five minutes of normal time remaining, the Spain head coach once again offered unwavering backing to his centre-forward.
"I don't think there's a national team coach anywhere in the world who wouldn't value Morata and what he does for the team" he said, after the 28-year-old completed 84 per cent of his passes in the opposition half and created two chances for team-mates.
"He's dominant aerially, he's strong and he gets us goals. We really need to appreciate having a striker like him."
Spain fell behind in the first half when goalkeeper Unai Simon let a 40-yard backpass from Pedri skip past him and into the net.
The Athletic Bilbao keeper made amends early in extra time with a stunning close-range save from Andrej Kramaric when the score was 3-3.
"Unai gave a lesson to kids everywhere," Luis Enrique said.
"Football is made up of errors and his reaction, making great saves, was an example of why we have such confidence in him."
The former Barcelona boss added: "I've lived through really intense matches as a player and manager but this one genuinely had a bit of everything."
After becoming the first team to score five goals in back-to-back games in European Championship history, Spain will face Switzerland in the quarter-finals.
Vladimir Petkovic's side emulated Croatia's feat by launching a late comeback to draw 3-3 with France before beating the world champions on penalties as Yann Sommer saved decisively from Kylian Mbappe in the shoot-out.
Granit Xhaka could not contain his joy after Switzerland sensationally eliminated world champions France in the last 16 at Euro 2020, describing the triumph as "f****** amazing".
Switzerland completed a remarkable comeback in a penalty shoot-out following Monday's dramatic 3-3 draw in Bucharest, where Yann Sommer emerged the hero after saving Kylian Mbappe's spot-kick.
Having opened the scoring and seen Ricardo Rodriguez's penalty saved by Hugo Lloris early in the second half, Switzerland found themselves 3-1 behind with 15 minutes of regulation time remaining.
But Haris Seferovic netted his second of the game in the 81st minute before Mario Gavranovic's last-gasp strike forced extra-time after cancelling out Karim Benzema's brace and Paul Pogba's stunner.
Sommer then stepped up with the decisive save in the shoot-out after extra time to send Switzerland through to the quarter-finals at a major tournament for the first time since the 1954 World Cup.
"It is f****** amazing man," Switzerland captain and man of the match Xhaka – who refused to rule out a move to Jose Mourinho's Roma from Arsenal – told beIN SPORTS.
"We lose two goals and then we go up. Then the penalty we missed broke us a bit. We showed a beautiful character. It's a hell of a team.
"We showed a lot of character, I don't even know what to say. In 10 minutes, we go back to 3-3. The last 30 minutes we were better, we wanted to finish and win before the penalty shoot-out. In the end, we are qualified. We are writing the history of our national team."
It was the first time in Switzerland's history that they had won a penalty shoot-out at a European Championship or World Cup, thanks to Sommer's save.
As Switzerland look ahead to Friday's showdown with Spain in St Petersburg, Sommer told EURO2020.com: "What a match! What an evening of football.
"It was our chance to finally go through the round of 16, because we never made it before. It's incredible, we played with heart and with character. It’s amazing.
"It was a really difficult situation for us after the penalty miss. I'm really proud of the team, how they came back. We always believed. Even before the game we said no matter what happens in the game, it doesn't matter if we're down, or if things are going well; we play until the end, we never give up.
"It's always 'anything is possible'. We believe. We said before the game that we are a small country, but we have a lot of quality and a lot of experience and we showed it tonight."
France head coach Didier Deschamps dismissed questions about his future after the world champions surprisingly crashed out of Euro 2020 at the hands of Switzerland in the last 16.
Deschamps' France lost 5-4 on penalties to Switzerland after Kylian Mbappe's spot-kick was saved by Yann Sommer, squandering a 3-1 lead with 15 minutes of regulation time remaining in Bucharest on Monday.
France failed to reach the quarter-final stage of a major tournament (European Champion and World Cup) for the first time since the 2010 World Cup following the shoot-out against Switzerland after the dramatic 3-3 draw at the end of extra time.
Deschamps is contracted until 2022 and has been in charge of Les Bleus since 2012, lifting the World Cup in 2018 and finishing European Championship runners-up in 2016.
France's premature Euro 2020 exit led to questions about the former France international's future as national team boss amid links with former Real Madrid boss and countryman Zinedine Zidane.
"That is not the question," Deschamps told beIN SPORTS after the defeat. "There is a unity and solidarity in this squad.
"I am responsible when things go badly - I am with them, they are with me. We will need to time to manage this, it hurts tonight."
France superstar Mbappe had his spot-kick saved in the decisive shoot-out moment by Sommer as Switzerland reached the quarter-finals of a major tournament for the first time since the 1954 World Cup.
Paris Saint-Germain's Mbappe had more shots (14) without scoring than any other player at Euro 2020.
Deschamps refused to blame Mbappe, adding: "Nobody can be annoyed with him.
"When you take the responsibility, it can happen. He is obviously very affected by it."
Deschamps said France showed weakness by allowing Switzerland's two late goals which forced extra-time.
France had fought back from a first-half deficit after Haris Seferovic's 15th-minute opener, with three second-half goals in 18 minutes, initially a Karim Benzema double before Paul Pogba's stunning strike.
Switzerland pulled a goal back with Seferovic's close-range header before Mario Gavranovic found space to level in the 90th minute to force extra time.
France have been eliminated in their last three games in which they played extra time in major tournaments (Euros and World Cup), as many as in their first 11.
"It is always complicated to explain," Deschamps said. "We failed with our first half, we did what was needed to turn it around in the second half.
"Usually our strength is being solid, we showed weakness that allowed Switzerland back in. This is hard, it hurts, we did everything we could for this to end differently. That's football.
"This tournament ends for us today. There is no magic formula."
June 28, 2021 – it has been a 'remember where you were' kind of day at the European Championship, with the round of 16 treating us to two absolute classics.
After seeing Spain emerge as winners over Croatia in an eight-goal match, many of us were probably settling down to watch France expecting a rather duller affair given their approach in the group stage.
What we got was the complete opposite, as Switzerland pulled off what will probably be the biggest shock of the tournament regardless of what happens from this point on.
With 14 goals between the two matches, only June 23, 2021 has seen more scored on a single day in Euros history but that came from a pool of four matches.
Furthermore, this was the first day at a European Championship or World Cup with two games featuring at least six goals each since June 15, 1982.
At the end of a truly remarkable day, Stats Perform looks at the key Opta stats from two engrossing matches.
Croatia 3-5 Spain (after extra time): Calamitous own goal sets tone for chaotic classic
Given how wasteful Spain have been at times in Euro 2020, it's a remarkable achievement that they have managed to become the first side in European Championship history to score five goals in successive games.
But rarely did they have things their own way, shooting themselves in the foot with Pedri scoring the longest-range own goal in Euros history at 49 yards as Unai Simon saw his pass bobble over his foot.
Incredibly, it was the ninth own goal at Euro 2020, as many as in the previous 15 editions of the tournament combined.
Pablo Sarabia equalised before the break, with Cesar Azpilicueta – now Spain's oldest-ever Euros scorer (31 years, 304 days) – and Ferran Torres putting them 3-1 up in the second period. They were cruising.
Or, they were until the last five minutes of normal time when Mislav Orsic and Mario Pasalic both scored, incredibly forcing extra-time.
But back came La Roja. Alvaro Morata silenced his army of critics with his fifth career goal at the Euros, levelling the Spanish record held by Fernando Torres, and then Mikel Oyarzabal made sure of the victory.
France 3-3 Switzerland (aet, 4-5 on penalties): Mbappe endures nightmare as Swiss refuse to roll over
While it was always going to be tricky for France to go all the way given their tough group and the fact they were on the trickier (in theory) side of the draw, anyone who says they predicted Les Bleus being eliminated by Switzerland is a liar.
Yet here we are, and the Swiss are into the quarter-finals. And, to be fair, they might have booked their place earlier had Hugo Lloris not become the first French goalkeeper to save a penalty at a major tournament (excluding shoot-outs) since 2004 when Switzerland were already 1-0 up.
Within four minutes and three seconds of that save, France were 2-1 up – Karim Benzema making himself only the second Frenchman to score two or more goals in successive games at the Euros since Michel Platini's back-to-back hat-tricks at Euro 84.
Paul Pogba then got what should have been the clincher 15 minutes from time with a scorching finish, his fourth in five goals for France to come from outside the box.
But Haris Seferovic got his second of the game to take his tally to three goals in two games after only previously managing one in 13 major tournament appearances, and Mario Gavranovic's dramatic effort secured extra time.
It was in the extra 30 minutes when Mbappe was particularly wasteful, missing one especially good chance, and what followed in the shoot-out ultimately made sense in that context.
After the first nine kicks were converted, Mbappe – who has had more shots (14) without scoring than any other player at Euro 2020 – saw his effort saved by Yann Sommer.
It means Switzerland will contest a quarter-final for the first time since 1954, while France failed to get to that stage for the first time since 2010.
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