Lionel Messi achieved a historic milestone by scoring his 100th goal for the Argentina

 Argentina celebrated their post-World Cup victory with a dominant 7-0 friendly win against Curacao on Tuesday, with Lionel Messi once again stealing the show. The talismanic player put on a clinic in the first half, scoring a hat trick that surpassed the 100-goal milestone for Argentina, while Nicolas Gonzalez and Enzo Fernandez also netted before halftime to secure a resounding victory in Santiago del Estero.

This follows Messi's recent achievement of surpassing the 800-goal mark for club and country in a match against Panama last Thursday. Although Curacao initially put up a fight for the first 20 minutes, Messi's opening goal opened the floodgates, and Gonzalez soon headed in Argentina's second. Messi then scored his second and Argentina's third with his trademark, bending shot from his left foot, before setting up Fernandez for a powerful strike from distance. Minutes later, Messi completed his first-half hat trick by running on to a perfectly weighted ball from Giovani Lo Celso.

In the second half, Argentina appeared content to maintain their lead, but they added to the scoreline in the 78th minute with an Angel Di Maria penalty and a close-range strike from Gonzalo Montiel. The home crowd paid tribute to Lionel Scaloni and his team of 2022 World Cup winners after the match, as they regroup for another international break in June with an eye on the start of CONMEBOL qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in September.