Lionel Messi, the captain of Argentina’s football team, scored his 100th international goal during a friendly match against Curacao in Santiago del Estero.
He completed his seventh international hat-trick by scoring three goals in quick succession, with the first one coming at the 20-minute mark. In addition to Messi’s feat, Chelsea’s Enzo Fernandez also scored, and the team celebrated their World Cup trophy with over 42,000 supporters in attendance.
This victory was Argentina’s second match on their home turf since winning the World Cup in Qatar by beating France on penalties.
Messi scored his 800th career goal and his 99th for Argentina during the team’s World Cup homecoming tour, and his milestone 100th goal for his country came when he received a pass from Giovani Lo Celso, a Tottenham Hotspur midfielder on loan to Villarreal, and scored a low shot.
Although he is now Argentina’s all-time record scorer, Messi remains behind Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal (122 goals) and Ali Daei of Iran (109 goals) on the men’s all-time international scoring list.
