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Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room has expressed his delight at getting Lionel Messi's jersey after his side suffered a 7-0 loss against Argentina on Tuesday (March 28).
La Albiceleste locked horns with Curacao at home in their second friendly of the international break on Tuesday. They went into the game on the back of a comfortable 2-0 win against Panama.
Argentina ensured that they ended the break on a high, thrashing their opponents 7-0. Nicolas Gonzalez, Enzo Fernandez, Angel Di Maria, and Gonzalo Montiel scored a goal each, while captain Messi grabbed a hat-trick.
Curacao goalkeeper Room did his best to keep the score down as he made a total of 10 saves on the night. As a reward, he managed to get hold of Messi's match shirt after the game.
Despite shipping seven goals against the South American giants, Room was thrilled to have swapped shirts with the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner. He posted an image of Lionel Messi's jersey on his Instagram story and wrote:
"Dreams come true"
Room also posted a carousel of pictures that captured the moment of him swapping shirts with Messi, writing:
"No caption needed..."
Room has made 43 appearances for the Curacao national team since making his debut for the side in June 2015. The 7-0 loss against Argentina was the heaviest defeat he has suffered in his international career.
The 34-year-old plies his trade for Major League Soccer (MLS) club Columbus Crew at club level. He spent a significant amount of time in the Netherlands before moving to the US, playing for the likes of PSV Eindhoven and Vitesse.
Room was not the only Curacao player who wanted to get his hands on Lionel Messi's shirt. All players on the team had hilariously requested the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar to bring a shirt each for everyone ahead of the game.
Argentina captain Lionel Messi surpasses 100 international goals
Lionel Messi had 99 international goals to his name prior to the clash against Curacao on Tuesday. He found the back of the net for the 100th time in Argentina colors 20 minutes into the game.
The 35-year-old marked the occasion by scoring two more goals and also assisting Enzo Fernandez. He is only the third player in the history of men's football to score 100 international goals.
Messi is now just seven goals away from equalling former Iranian striker Ali Daei's tally. His arch-nemesis Cristiano Ronaldo leads the chart, having netted 122 times for Portugal.
