Argentina’s talisman Lionel Messi scored a fine hat-trick in the 7-0 drubbing of Curacao on Tuesday. Messi took only 37 minutes to complete his hat-trick as he was in beast mode. The linchpin scored his 100th goal in Argentina’s shirt in the 20th minute of the game.

After completing a century of goals, Messi joined Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (122) and Iran’s Ali Daei (109) in the elite club of players who have scored more than 100 goals for the national team.

The PSG forward received a pass in the box and completed the goal with his wrong foot to get to the personal milestone.

Messi has thus far made 174 appearances for La Albiceleste. In fact, the number 10 scored the 800th goal of his career against Panama earlier on Thursday in his team’s 2-0 win.

With this record, Messi becomes the first South American male player to reach the landmark of 100 goals.

“I hope there will be more (Messi goals), he deserves all the praise and it’s good that these goals had been on Argentine soil, that has a special value too,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni told reporters.

“What a nice way to close these dates, impressive today all the people in Santiago del Estero,” Messi wrote on Instagram. “I wish we can continue to share together many moments like these and that this craziness never ends!!!”

Messi has made a total of 154 goal contributions in the 174 matches he has played for Argentina. Earlier, Messi had bagged the Golden ball award in the FIFA World Cup 2022 for scoring seven goals and providing three assists.

Messi will now return to Paris Saint-Germain. Christophe Galtier’s side will play against Lyon in Ligue 1 on Sunday, April 2.