Lionel Messi surpassed the great milestone of scoring 100 goals for the Argentina national team with a hat-trick in a friendly match against Curacao (7-0).Lionel Messi had an emotional day in Argentina’s friendly against Curacao. After scoring against Panama, the World Cup winner arrived in Santiago del Estero to continue his legacy of success in Qatar and a superb performance with a hat-trick that took him to 100 international goals (followed by his 101st and 102nd).
On March 1, 2006, Messi celebrated his first goal in a 2-3 friendly defeat to Croatia. Despite the disappointment, what followed saw La Pulga become the team’s most capped player (174), surpassing former teammate Javier Mascherano. He also became the team’s top scorer in 2016, surpassing Gabriel Omar Batistuta (54) and leaving behind other illustrious strikers such as Diego Maradona (34), Hernan Crespo (35) and Sergio Aguero (41).
On his journey, Messi once again left Batistuta behind. 7 goals scored at World Cups were enough for La Pulga to surpass his seniors as the Argentine player with the most goals in World Cup history. In total, he scored 13 goals, including 10 with his left foot and the rest with his non-dominant right foot.
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Messi scored a hat-trick for Argentina, entering the 100-goal club
The timing of Messi surpassing this milestone is no coincidence, because this is the year in which he scored the most goals since his debut on August 16, 2005 against Hungary, a friendly match in which the former Barca player was kicked out. yard after 45 seconds. That was the only year he did not score for Argentina.
Messi scored 102 goals for Argentina after his hat-trick against Curacao
Messi’s celebration with Argentina began in 2006 with 2 goals in 7 matches. The highest peak he achieved was in 2022 with 18 goals in 14 matches, then 12 goals in 9 matches in 2012 and 9 goals in 16 matches in 2021.
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Lionel Scaloni and Alejandro Sabella were the national team coaches at the time, precisely the two coaches who benefited the most from Messi. They saw him score 58 goals for the team. On the other hand, on the negative list were Jose Nestor Pekerman (2 goals), Diego Maradona (3) and Edgardo Bauza (3, but after 4 games).
Among Messi’s favorite victims, Bolivia ranks first with 8 goals, followed by Ecuador and Uruguay (6), Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Venezuela and Estonia (5), with the last team receiving all 5 goals. in a friendly match in June 2022.
On the other hand, Belgium, Greece, Costa Rica, Sweden and Japan are the teams that still stand firm against the terrifying firepower of the world champion.
Currently, Angel Di Maria is on the list of players with the most assists for Messi. Gonzalo Higuain leads the way with 7 assists, followed by Aguero, Carlos Tevez and Fideo (6), Ezequiel Lavezzi and Giovani Lo Celso (5), including 2 against Curacao.
