Lionel Messi surpasses 100 goals for Argentina when he scores a hat-trick in the first half in the world champions’ 7-0 friendly win over Curacao
By Isabel Baldwin For Dailymail.Com 2:35 am Mar 29, 2023, updated 3:25 am Mar 29, 2023
Lionel Messi scored 100 career goals for Argentina with a hat-trick in the first half of the world champions’ 7-0 defeat by Curacao on Tuesday.
The 35-year-old Messi opened the scoring for the milestone 100 in the international friendly against the Caribbean team in the 20th minute with a right-footed shot from the edge of the box.
He added his 101st for Argentina with a cross from the keeper’s right courtesy of Nico Gonzalez and his 102nd after an easy run to score.
Argentina led Curacao 5-0 at half-time, with Gonzalez and Enzo Fernandez also putting their names on the scoreboard.
Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Montiel extended Argentina’s ridiculous second-half lead by scoring their own goals in the 78th and 87th minutes respectively.
Lionel Messi surpassed Argentina’s 100 career goals with a hat-trick against Curacao on Tuesday. He scored with a shot from the edge of the box in the 20th minute to set the milestone. The captain added his 101st for Argentina with a cross from the keeper’s right
The Argentina captain is behind just two male players on the list for most goals scored for national teams in official matches; Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo with 122 and Iran’s Ali Daei with 109.
He is the first South American male player to reach the 100 goal mark and the second South American overall behind Brazilian Marta, who has 109 for the country.
Almost half (46) of Messi’s goals have come from international friendlies. The PSG forward has scored 28 goals in World Cup qualifiers, including a hat-trick in the 3-1 victory in Ecuador in October 2017 that secured Argentina’s place at the 2018 World Cup.
Messi has scored 13 times in the Copa America and is Argentina’s top scorer in World Cup competitions, having scored 13 goals in 26 games in five editions from 2006.
The friendly in Santiago del Estero is Argentina’s second since winning the World Cup in December. Messi’s team beat Panama 2-0 in Buenos Aires last week.