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Lionel Messi scored his seventh international hat-trick as Argentina thrashed Curacao 7-0 in a home friendly. As sensational as that sounds, the hat-trick wasn't the most sensational feat; the real deal was Messi passing the 100 international goals mark; now with 102 international goals. He is now the third player in history to achieve that feat. The first two are Cristiano Ronaldo with 122 goals and Iran's Ali Daei with 109 goals. Messi is the first South American male player to hit the 100 international goals mark. Brazil's Marta holds the record for females with 109 international goals. It only took Messi one half to net all three goals at the Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades. His first came from a Giovani Lo Celso assist, in the 20th minute; Messi's second was scored 13 minutes later, assisted by Fiorentina's Nicolas Gonzalez. Argentina's second goal was scored by Gonzalez. Lo Celso once more gave Messi a pass for his third goal. Messi also set up Enzo Fern

Two-time world champions Argentina are en route to their sixth final in World Cup history, and this is largely thanks to Lionel Messi's excellence and Julian Alvarez's decisiveness in front of goal. Argentina beat Croatia 3-0 to reach their second World Cup final in eight years. Messi put Argentina on the path to victory in the 34th minute  with a perfectly struck penalty, and brilliantly created Argentina's third goal. Julian Alvarez scored Argentina's second goal of the night by taking Messi's header  just inside Croatian territory and embarking on a slaloming run and into the Livakovic's net. Messi's assist for Alvarez's second goal was superb; he twisted and turned past Croatia defender Josko Gvardiol in an eye-catching move before putting it on a plate for Alvarez to score . For the fourth time in this FIFA World Cup, Messi has been named Man of the Match, a feat achieved by no other player in the current World Cup tournament. He has scored goals in

Argentina have made it through to the quarterfinals of the FIFA 2022 World Cup in a 2-1 win over Australia in the round of 16, to a greater extent thanks to a top notch performance from their captain and talisman Lionel Messi. Argentina struggled in the first thirty-five minutes of the Argentina vs Australia eight finals, with Messi quickly surrounded by the Socceroos every time he had the ball on his feet. However, Messi managed to keep Argentina's World Cup trophy alive in his 100th game as Argentina captain and 1,000th appearance in professional football with a much needed goal. A goal that happened to be Messi's first in the knockout stage of a World Cup. Messi is now only one goal shy of Gabriel Batistuta's record of 10 World Cup goals. Messi's performance was truly outstanding, as he completed 90% of his passes, created four chances and had nine touches in the opposition area. This has been rated Messi's best game so far in this World Cup. Messi is now t

Argentina came into their second World Cup group fixture knowing a win was the only guarantee to keep alive their hopes of progressing past the group stage after their shocking 2-1 defeat to Saudi Arabia in their first fixture. Lionel Messi kept he and Argentina's dream of winning the World Cup with a 2-0 victory over Mexico at the Lusail stadium. Messi scored for Argentina in the 64th minute, from outside the box giving Argentina much needed hope to carry on.  "That's what they came for," Peter Drury said after Messi's goal. " The Magic Man !' One more Messi moment and Argentina are alive."  Enzo Fernandez further cemented Argentina's lead with a curling right-foot shot from a Messi assist in the 87th minute.  Messi has now equaled Diego Maradona's Argentina record of 21 matches and eight goals at the World Cup.  Messi has won all but one title in his career, and that is the World Cup. He came closest to winning it in 2014 when Argentina pla

Argentina have extended their remarkable unbeaten streak in their penultimate World Cup warmup game to 35 matches over 3 years, with a 3-0 win over Jamaica on Tuesday night. Messi who was twice accosted by fans for signatures and selfies scored twice after Julian Alvarez's opener for Argentina in the 13th minute. Messi was brought in from the bench in the 55th minute of play and he went on to score in the 86th minute after a give-and-go with Giovani Lo Celso. A few minutes later, he scored another on free kick after being fouled by Adrian Mariappa just outside the penalty area. Messi has now scored 90 goals in 164 international appearances. “You have to enjoy Messi,” Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said. “No matter your country, everyone does. I’m his coach, but I would buy a ticket to see him. “There are no words to describe what he is,” Álvarez said. “Playing five, 10 minutes or all the match, he manages to do amazing things.” Argentina play their ultimate pre-World Cup fr

Lionel Messi was in scintillating form at the Finalissima - a contest between the champions of Europe and the champions of South America - as Argentina comfortably beat Italy 3 - 0. Messi, Di Mari and Matrtinez were a constant menace to the Italian defense with the seamless interplay. Messi's eye-catching dplay featured two assist, the first for Lautaro Martinez, who provided an assist for Argentina's second goal through Di Maria, and his second for substitute Paulo Dybala who scored Argentina's third goal in injury time. Since June 2019, Argentina are unbeaten in 32 matches, having won their first Copa America since 1993, qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar, and now, winning the Finalissima. Messi was thrown into the air by his jubilant teammates once the final whistle was blown. After the game, Messi said: "Today was a nice test because Italy are a great team. We knew it was going to be a nice game and a nice setting in which to be champions. "It was a b

Argentina captain and icon Lionel Messi on Thursday night became the top male international goalscorer, overtaking Brazil legend Pele. Messi scored a hat-trick to give Argentina a 3-0 win over Bolivia in a World Cup qualifier. Messi's international goal tally now stands at 79, two more than Pele. Pele - three-time World Cup winner with Brazil is currently in hospital due to surgery for a tumor on his colon. It was the first time Argentina fans were allowed to watch their national team since the start of the pandemic. There were 21,000 fans in attendance at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires. Messi scored his first goal 14 minutes into the game - he moved the ball between a Bolivian defender's legs and shot from outside the box to the right of goalkeeper Carlos Lampe. Hi second came in the 64th minute after he worked a one-two with Lautaro Martinez and displayed superb footwork in a packed penalty box. He completed his hat-trick in the 88th minute, sending home a rebound

Hugo Gatti takes yet another dig at Lionel Messi. It's no secret that Gatti has always preferred Maradona to Messi. Gatti said on El Chiringuito: "I don't care if they criticize me in Argentina. "I'm very Argentinian and Messi is a phenomenon, but he's not a phenomenon now. "They treat him wrong because they big him up and big him up and treat him wrong. "He gets used to it and walks more on the pitch. He has to be better. "Cristiano [Ronaldo] and him are the two best. "Messi has to be better, he's got used to playing at a weary rhythm, walking and those that know football think the same. "Take off, kid. You have to play well. "When there's a player like Messi, like it was with Maradona and Pele, and his teammates always give the ball to him to win the game. "They spoil the team and they don't put everything they have into it. "The team get used to giving him the ball and not anyone els

Barcelona captain Lionel Messi has been fined $50,000 and banned from playing for his national team Argentina, following his heavy criticism of CONMEBOL during the Copa America. Messi was incensed by several incidents during the Copa, including one that saw two Argentina denied two penalty claims in a semifinal loss against Brazil. Messi claimed the officials didn't use VAR on fouls against Argentina because they were "in favor" of Brazil. "Referees gave so many stupid fouls in this Copa America but today VAR wasn't consulted once," said Messi. "This should be looked into and I hope CONMEBOL do something with these referees who unbalance the pitch by favoring a team.  "The truth is we're angry because we played very well, we put in a huge effort for it and to end like this makes us sad." CONMEBOL justified banning and fining Messi on their website, though not spelling out the exact reason for the ban in clear terms. They said

Argentina is in the midst of a cold snap now, with temperatures in the capital Buenos Aires barely making it to double digits during the day. The nights are even much colder. This has been a big issue for the homeless. Messi's family's restaurant in Rosario, named VIP, has been offering the homeless free meals, coffee and a little wine. This began last Friday and they intend to do so for the next 15 days. "We've also been giving out coffee, soft drinks and even some wine to some," said the restaurant manager Ariel Almada. "Many people came and were very respectful. "We're going to keep this up for 15 days, every night between 19:00 and 21:00." VIP also plans to collect some warm clothes and share to those in need.

The usually quiet Messi has been rather outspoken throughout this Copa. He's had a lot to say about the poor officiating and "corruption" as he says that went down to favor Brazil's winning of their first Copa title in 12 years. Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro was asked to comment on Messi's claims and accusations. He didn't want to say much but sent across a subtle message. The Brazilian said: "Those with a mouth can say what they want. "It's not up to me to speak, it's a delicate subject. "It's not for me to say if the refereeing was good. "Everyone tries to do their best and we need to congratulate Peru for the good Copa America they had." What's your take on the subject?

Lionel Messi and Sergio Agüero did not hesitate to hide their displeasure at the officiating of the Copa America semi-finals, which saw their side (Argentina) lose to Brazil 2-0. They could not understand why the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) system which had been heavily used at the tournament, considerably impacting results, was not consulted in two penalty appeals that were waved away. Uruguay had three of its goals ruled out in their quarter-final exit to Peru due to VAR, numerous goals were disapproved after lengthy VAR review stoppages in the group stage, and penalties awarded even without foul appeals, but alas, VAR was a no-show during the Argentina - Brazil game on Tuesday. Messi, who is not known for lashing out made his discontentment known without reserve.  “They were not better than us. They found the net early and the second goal came from a penalty they didn’t award,” Messi said. “The officiating was crazy. There were clear penalties, on Nicolas Otamendi, on

Argentina captain Lionel Messi, has declared that "another Copa begins now" for Argentina after helping them narrowly cross to the quarterfinals. Argentina lost to Colombia in their first game, drew with Paraguay in the second, and beat Qatar in their final group game yesterday. Goals from Lautaro Martinez and Sergio Aguero gave La Albiceleste the much needed victory to qualify for the quarterfinals. Messi is looking to take positives from their victory while looking forward to their last-eight encounter with Venezuela on Sunday. After the game, he told reporters, "We played a good game and we won, and that was what mattered. "We needed a game like this to gain some confidence and calm. As we play more games, the team grows each one and that game was good for that. "The important thing was to win to keep going in the Copa, to get through the group stage. This will be an important boost for what's to come ... another Copa begins now. "This vi

Argentina have hardly been as poor as they have been this Copa, with already two shaky performances in their two group games. Matchday two, Argentina vs Paraguay, Richard Sanchez gives Paraguay the lead in the 37th minute,  firing into the bottom corner after a lung-bursting run from Miguel Almiron down the left wing. Messi then salvages Argentina with a goal from penalty in the 57th minute after a hand-ball by Paraguay's Ivan Piris is spotted by VAR review. Derlis Gonzalez would then take on a spot-kick for Paraguay but his shot is saved by Argentina keeper Franco Armani. He is also to be credited for saving a free kick from Matias Roja. Argentina who sit at the bottom of Group B with only a point from two games must beat third-placed Qatar in their final group game on Sunday in order to progress to the knock-out stage. Group B leaders, Colombia, are already qualified for the quarter-finals, after beating Qatar 1-0 earlier yesterday. Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni told

Messi remains a danger to opponents as ever, especially to Nicaragua, ranked 129th in the world in footballing terms. He opened scoring in the 38th minute. In the construct to Messi's first goal - a solo goal, he brilliantly danced past three defenders before clinically finishing past goalkeeper Lorente. His second goal, came in less than a minute later from a Sergio Aguero rebound. Messi has now scored 67 goals for Argentina. Messi and Aguero were then replaced at half-time by Paulo Dybala and Martinez.   Inter’s Martinez added to Argentina's lead by curling a shot into the bottom corner of the net with 27 minutes remaining, then fired home a fourth from close range 10 minutes later. Argentina's third substitute, Roberto Pereyra tapped in the simplest of goals in the final nine minutes to make it 5-0. Nicaragua were able to score a consolation goal through penalty, in stoppage time after a Nicolas Otamendi handball. Messi has played and lost three Copa finals -