Argentina hosted Curacao in which the hosts came away with a straightforward win after thrashing them 7-0. Lionel Messi unsurprisingly stole the show after scoring a hattrick and reaching the milestone of 100 international goals being the first Argentinian to do so. Moreover, It’s a win that’s expected to lift Argentina to the No. 1 FIFA world ranking.
The magic man now has 102 goals in 174 appearances for the country and is third on the all-time list of top international goal scorers, trailing Iran’s Ali Daei and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo. “We will never stop celebrating and I think it’s fair and deserved,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni told reporters. “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.”
The man considered by many to be the greatest footballer of all time had come in for some criticism over the years for his performances at the international level. That was until he led Argentina to Copa America success in 2021 and followed that up at last year’s World Cup, starring as La Albiceleste recovered from a shock opening defeat to Saudi Arabia to beat defending champions France in the final on penalties.
Here is how Fans reacted after Lionel Messi’s 100 international goals
There were other standout performers which haven’t gone unnoticed as two players who did not participate in the World Cup shone. Nico Gonzalez put in a good shift before scoring a goal outjumping the opposition keeper while Lo Celso set up Messi twice helping in his milestone.
With the next competitive matches for Argentina not until the fall when 2026 World Cup qualifying begins, Messi and company will be playing friendlies through the first half of the year. Those should give fans a chance to see their World Cup heroes on the field before the page truly turns to the coming 2026 World Cup cycle.
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