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What a time Lionel Messi is having! After winning the Player of the Tournament in the Qatar World Cup, Lionel Messi won The FIFA Best Player award also. Messi, however, didn’t stop after winning the World Cup. He continues his show in Argentina’s shirt. Today, the greatest of all time scored a hat-trick against Curacao, in which Argentina secured a 7-0 victory at Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades. Messi’s first goal of the match marked his 100th goal for Argentina, making him the first Argentine to reach that milestone.
As it happened
Argentina hosted Curacao to play their second friendly in the international break. Argentina, however, won the first friendly, and the manager made some changes in the second match. Giovani Lo Celso and Nicholas Gonzalez, the two players who missed the world cup due to injury, started against Curacao. “Everyone knows that they were on the list if nothing had happened. They are two important players. They have been all over the cycle. Beyond that they are celebrations for obtaining the title, we opted for them to play because we believe that they can contribute to us. They contribute a lot of things. They are going to be important,” manager Lionel Scaloni talked about these two players.
However, Argentina could have scored within five minutes. Lionel Messi set a fantastic ball for Lautaro Martinez, but the striker missed an open chance in the 3rd minute. However, Messi didn’t take much time as he found the net in the 20th minute with Lo Celso’s assist. Three minutes later, the Albiceleste doubled their lead with Nicho Gonzalez scoring the goal.
The third goal came from Leo Messi’s strike in the 33rd minute, while Enzo Fernandez made it four within two minutes. Furthermore, Messi completed his 57th hat-trick with a goal in the 37th minute. After that, Argentina slowed down their playing style.
Returning from the break, the managers from both sides changed several players. But that didn’t work out for Curacao in finding the net. Moreover, Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Montiel scored two more goals for the Albiceleste to make the scoreline 7-0.
Lionel Scaloni talked about Messi’s future
Argentine boss Lionel Scaloni once again talked about Messi’s future. He wants Messi to play more. Scaloni said, “I’m not in his head, I don’t know what he thinks. I don’t know what he’s going to do. It doesn’t correspond. What I want is for him to play, to be on a field, to be happy. I would like him to continue playing.”
