Lionel Messi, the captain of Argentina, had another outstanding performance as his team thrashed Curacao 7-0 in a friendly. Messi also scored his 100th goal for Argentina, the defending world champions.
The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) player struck a decisive hat trick in the first half to cross the 100-goal threshold.
Messi now has seven hat tricks for his country.
The World Cup hero reached the milestone following the previous game against Panama, which was a 2-0 victory, when he reached another key milestone by scoring 800 goals for the club and nation.
The first 20 minutes of Tuesday’s game presented difficulties for the champions as Curacao fought valiantly until Messi scored the game’s first goal. Shortly after, Nicolas Gonzalez gave the home team a two-goal advantage with a header past Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room. In the 33rd minute, Messi added a second goal with one of his signature curling shots that found the far post.
Enzo Fernandez then scored Argentina’s fourth goal from the edge of the box thanks to a pass from Messi. Two minutes later, in the 37th minute, the 35-year-old finished up his hat trick with a straightforward finish after receiving another pass from Lo Celso.
Tributes and praises poured in for Argentina and their coach Lionel Scaloni, who said they “will never stop celebrating”.
“I hope there will be more (Messi goals), he deserves all the praise and it’s good that these goals had been on Argentine soil, that has a special value too,” he added.
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