Argentina captain Lionel Messi made history on Tuesday when he scored his 100th international goal in a 7-0 friendly victory over Curacao. The reigning world champions completely dominated the Caribbean minnows in Santiago del Estero. Messi, who has won seven Ballon d'Or awards, put Argentina ahead in the 20th minute, 17 years after he scored his first international goal in a 3-2 defeat to Croatia in March 2006. The 35-year-old then went on to score two more goals before the end of the first half, completing his seventh hat-trick for the national team.
The Argentine star now holds the record for most international goals for his country, surpassing Gabriel Batistuta (56) and Sergio Aguero (41) combined. Messi's feat marks his second match for Argentina since winning the World Cup against France in Qatar in December. In that game, Argentina triumphed 4-2 on penalties after a thrilling 3-3 draw.
With a total of 102 goals, Messi now sits in third place in the all-time list of international goal scorers, with great rival Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal leading the way with 122 goals, followed by Iran's Ali Daei (109).
Messi's first attempt to reach the 100-goal milestone was on Thursday of last week when he scored his 99th goal in a homecoming celebration match against Panama. It took until the 78th minute before 21-year-old MLS sensation Thiago Almada broke through Panama's defense, and Messi followed it up by scoring a direct free-kick, marking his 800th professional goal.
Ranked 86th by FIFA, Curacao could only hold off Messi and his teammates for 20 minutes before the Argentine captain scored his 100th international goal. Fans watching the game witnessed a historic moment as the referee threw the ball to someone on the side of the pitch, with commentators speculating that it was heading "straight to the museum."
Messi's incredible scoring spree continued, with him and his teammates displaying their dominance over Curacao, with Cristian Romero, Rodrigo De Paul, Joaquin Correa, and Giovanni Lo Celso getting in on the action. Curacao had no answer to Argentina's attacking prowess, and their resistance was broken down with ease.
Although Argentina took their foot off the gas in the second half, with only a penalty and a close-range finish from Gonzalo Montiel adding to the score, the fans remained in party mood throughout. They eagerly await the moment when their heroes will lift the World Cup trophy in front of them.