Argentina, reigning world champions, will take first place FIFA ranking national teams on April 6 after friendly wins against Panama and Curaçao.
This is the first time since 2007 that the Albiceleste team has taken first place. For its part, France remains in second place, while Brazil falls to third and Belgium to fourth.
All the more reason for Lionel Messi to celebrate as the ‘flea’ scored a hat-trick in the Albiceleste’s 7-0 win over weak Curaçao in Santiago del Estero. With these conquests, the man from Rosario scored 102 goals wearing his team’s jersey, confirming him as the top scorer. In addition, “Lio” was 20 goals behind Cristiano Ronaldo (122) and seven for Iran’s Ali Daei (109), who tops the list of national teams’ top scorers.
Messi has a long history with the white and light blue kit, spanning almost 18 years and 174 appearances. The Rosario man made his debut on August 16, 2005 in a 2-1 friendly win over Hungary. It was only in his sixth appearance that he scored his first goal, on March 1, 2006 in a 2-3 defeat by Croatia in a friendly match.
The player from Paris St Germain He was the third footballer in the world to break the century barrier of a select group with his national jersey.