On Tuesday, Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick in Argentina's 7-0 victory against Curaçao, surpassing 100 international goals at the age of 35. He reached this milestone by scoring his 100th goal 20 minutes into the game before adding two more goals in quick succession later in the first half. Nicolás González and Enzo Fernández also scored for Argentina, giving them a 5-0 lead at halftime against Curaçao, who are ranked 84 places below the world champions in the FIFA rankings.
Argentina's victory was also a continuation of their World Cup celebrations, as players wore commemorative jerseys during the presentation of a replica trophy in front of thousands of fans. The match remained goalless for much of the second half, but Ángel Di María converted a penalty and Gonzalo Montiel scored in the final 15 minutes to complete Argentina's rout.
This is Messi's latest achievement, following his 800th career goal in a friendly against Panama just a few days earlier. He is currently third on the list of top international goalscorers, 15 behind Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal and seven behind Ali Daei of Iran. Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni praised Messi's accomplishment and hopes that he will continue to score more goals for the team.