Lionel Messi has become the third player to score at least 100 goals in men’s international soccer.
The 35-year-old joined Cristiano Ronaldo and Iran legend Ali Daei in the 100 Club by scoring against Curacao in a friendly on Tuesday.
Messi’s 100th international goal arrived 20 minutes into the game at the Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero.
It was scored with his weaker right foot after he jinked past a Curacao defender inside the penalty area.
Messi then scored his 101st international goal 34 minutes into Tuesday’s game before completing his hat-trick moments later as Argentina ran riot against the side ranked 86th in the world by FIFA.
Argentina went on to win Tuesday’s game 7-0, with Nicolas Gonzalez, Enzo Fernandez, Angel Di Maria and Gonzalo Montiel joining Messi on the scoresheet.
Ronaldo currently leads the men’s international scoring charts with 122 goals in 198 appearances.
Daei, who retired in 2006, scored 109 goals in 148 matches for Iran.
It has taken Messi 174 games to score his first 102 international goals.
Messi has now scored against 37 different national teams for Argentina.
His first international goal came in 2006 against Croatia.
Messi has scored at least one goal in every calendar year since then, with 2022 being his most productive (18 goals in 14 games).
Forty-eight of Messi’s first 102 international goals have come in friendly games.
Who Lionel Messi’s First 102 Argentina Goals Have Been Scored Against
- Bolivia 8
- Ecuador 6
- Uruguay 6
- Brazil 5
- Chile 5
- Estonia 5
- Paraguay 5
- Venezuela 5
- Mexico 4
- Panama 4
- Curacao 3
- Colombia 3
- Croatia 3
- France 3
- Guatemala 3
- Haiti 3
- Nigeria 3
- Switzerland 3
- Algeria 2
- Hong Kong 2
- Honduras 2
- Jamaica 2
- Nicaragua 2
- Spain 2
- Albania 1
- Australia 1
- Bosnia and Herzegovina 1
- Germany 1
- Iran 1
- Holland 1
- Peru 1
- Portugal 1
- Saudi Arabia 1
- Serbia and Montenegro 1
- Slovenia 1
- United Arab Emirates 1
- United States 1
Source: si.com
