loader

Messi Storms Past 100-goal Milestone for Argentina with Stunning First-half Hat-trick Against Curacao

Argentina captain Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick against Curacao on Tuesday to race past the 100-goal barrier for the world champions.

Messi took just 37 minutes to score a hat-trick in a 7-0 thrashing of Curacao on Tuesday. The goals mean the 35-year-old has become just the third player to hit over a century at international level, joining Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (122) and Iran's Ali Daei (109) in achieving the feat. Messi is also the first male South American player to achieve the landmark.

He opened the scoring in the 20th minute to bring up his 100th goal in trademark style, receiving a pass in the box before slipping past his marker and placing the ball expertly into the bottom corner.