On Tuesday, Lionel Messi scored his 100th international goal for Argentina, as they cruised to a 7-0 victory over Curacao in a friendly match held in Santiago del Estero. This milestone goal came 17 years after Messi scored his first goal for the Albiceleste in a 3-2 defeat to Croatia in March 2006.
The 35-year-old began the scoring against the Caribbean side on the 20th minute, and he soon added another goal just after the half-hour mark to make it 3-0. Messi then completed his hat-trick on the 37th minute with the fifth goal as Argentina toyed with their outclassed opponents. This hat-trick was his seventh for the national team.
The other Argentinian goals were scored by Nicolas Gonzalez, Enzo Fernandez, Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Montiel. Fellow goalscorer Gonzalez praised Messi by saying “You cannot describe Messi in words, he’s the best in the world and he shows it match after match, day after day. Every time he touches the ball, he makes you smile.”
Before the game, Messi was not only his country’s all-time record goalscorer, but he also had more goals than the next two top marksmen – Gabriel Batistuta on 56 and Sergio Aguero with 41 – put together. With this victory, he now has 102 international goals to his name and remains third in the all-time list, behind his great rival Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal (122) and Iran’s Ali Daei (109).
This match was Argentina’s second since winning the World Cup in Qatar in December, and it was always going to be about Messi reaching his 100th goal. In their previous match, which was a homecoming celebration against Panama, Messi scored his 99th goal for Argentina, before scoring a direct free-kick to reach his 800th career goal in professional football.
Curacao, ranked 86th in the world, could only hold out for 20 minutes before Messi scored his milestone goal. The Argentine captain took a pass from Giovanni Lo Ceslo, cut inside his marker onto his weaker right foot and fired a low shot into the bottom corner. The referee was then seen on live television throwing the ball to someone on the side of the pitch, leading commentators to speculate that it was heading “straight to the museum.”
Argentina took their foot off the gas in the second half, with only two more goals from a generously-awarded Angel Di Maria penalty and a close-range finish from Gonzalo Montiel adding to their scoreline.
Messi’s 100th international goal is yet another feather in his cap and a testament to his remarkable skill and longevity. As his teammate Nicolas Gonzalez said, “He’s the best in the world and he shows it match after match, day after day”.
