Lionel Messi hattrick: Fans demand 8th Ballon d'Or for Argentina captain after stunning 36-minute treble in 7-0 Curacao rout

Argentina superstar Lionel Messi needed only 36 minutes to score a superb hattrick in Tuesday’s (March 28) friendly win over Curacao. As expected, fans went berserk after seeing their idol weave his magic, already demanding that France Football give him the Ballon d'Or.

Lionel Messi, who scored a stunning free-kick in Argentina’s friendly 2-0 win over Panama on Thursday (March 23), started in Tuesday’s friendly bout with Curacao. Playing at the Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades, Messi dropped a masterclass, scoring a sensational hattrick to propel La Albicelste to an emphatic 7-0 victory.

The Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) superstar scored his first in the 20th minute. Receiving a through ball from Giovani Lo Celso, the Argentinian jigged past a Curacao defender to open up a bit of space and then applied a cool finish with his weaker right foot. It marked the 100th international goal of Messi’s career, making him the third player in men’s football history to cross the milestone, after Iran’s Ali Daei and Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.

In the 33rd minute, he doubled his tally, courtesy of a clever and unselfish bit of play from Nicolas Gonzalez. The 35-year-old made no mistake in cutting inside and slotting Gonzalez’s pass from close quarters. Three minutes later, Messi struck again, chasing down Lo Celso’s long ball and beating a Curacao defender in a foot race, before applying a convincing finish from inside the box.

On that note, here’s how the fans reacted to the Argentina icon’s 57th career hattrick (club + country) on Tuesday:

Messi also set up Enzo Fernandez for his 35th-minute goal against Curacao. Fernandez and Messi aside, Gonzalez, Angel Di Maria, and Gonzalo Montiel also found the back of the net in the friendly.

Messi has now scored 102 international goals in 174 games for Argentina. He is seven goals shy of equalling Daei’s tally (109 in 149 games) and 20 behind touching arch-rival Ronaldo’s record (122 in 198 games).

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Lionel Messi reacts after Argentina’s 7-0 rout of Curacao

Lionel Messi appeared in a jubilant mood as La Albiceleste picked up an impressive 7-0 win over Curacao at home. Not only were fans treated to a magical Messi hattrick, but Lionel Scaloni and Co. also celebrated their 2022 FIFA World Cup win with them. The players danced around with their World Cup trophy and took multiple victory laps.

After the event, Lionel Messi took to Instagram, wishing for the euphoria to last forever.

He wrote:

“What a nice way to close these dates, impressive today all the people in Santiago del Estero. I wish we can continue to share together many moments like these and that this craziness never ends!!!”

Lionel Messi and Argentina will return to action again in June, after the end of the 2022-23 club football season. No fixtures have yet been confirmed.