Messi, 35, opened the scoring against Curaçao in the 20th minute with a right-footed strike from the edge of the field to reach the 100-goal milestone. Nico Gonzalez added another three minutes later with a close-range header.
Messi then scored his 101st goal for Argentina in the 33rd minute with a shot to the right of the goalkeeper and his 102nd goal in the 37th minute after an easy run towards goal. Two minutes earlier, he had assisted on Enzo Fernandez’s shot from the edge of the field.
The Argentine captain is ahead of only two players on the list of most scored goals for national teams in official matches: Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo (122) and Iran’s Ali Daei (109).
