Lionel Messi scores hat trick

The defending World Cup champions wrapped up their celebration tour on home soil with a 7-0 win over Curacao featuring a first-half hat-trick by Lionel Messi. It's a win that's expected to lift Argentina to the No. 1 FIFA world ranking.

Just a few months ago, Lionel Messi was celebrating the greatest achievement of his soccer career; winning the World Cup with Argentina.

After declaring in December that his time on the national team was not yet up, Messi achieved another milestone for his country during an international friendly matchup against Curaçao on Tuesday night.

Messi scored his 100th, 101st, and 102nd goal for Argentina with a prolific first-half hat trick as part of a 7-0 beatdown of Curaçao.

He was his usual dominant self on Tuesday, scoring the trio of goals within a 17-minute span and assisting on another (to Chelsea star Enzo Fernandez) within that same time frame.

This was the last action for Argentina until a reported June tour of Asia (June 14-20), where they will play two friendlies. That will be followed by the opening of 2026 World Cup qualifying in September at home against Ecuador and then away at Bolivia.