Lionel Messi fastest hat trick in his career for Argentina in big win over Curacao as history is made

Simon Borg

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Lionel Messi fastest hat trick in his career for Argentina in big win over Curacao as history is made image

Lionel Messi can't stop scoring when he puts on the Argentina jersey.

The reigning FIFA World Player of the Year netted a first-half hat-trick on Tuesday in a demolition of No. 86 ranked Curacao. It was the ninth international hat-trick of his career, and 50th of his professional career between club and country.

He opened the scoring in the 20th minute to get his 100th goal in an Argentina jersey. 

And if that weren't special enough, he followed that up with goal No. 101 making it look easy, settling with his left and shooting with his right.

Then his third came on a clinical transition with Giovani Lo Celso dishing an exquisite pass into his path and letting Messi do the rest

According to some it's the fastest hat-trick Lionel Messi has ever scored in his career from the start of a match.

The 100 goal mark was special because only two men's players have ever reached those heights. And Cristiano Ronaldo is one of them.

Here's how many goals Messi has scored per year and per competition in an Argentina shirt:

Here's where Lionel Messi ranks among Argentina goal scorers all-time (he has 102 goals).

Simon Borg

Simon Borg Photo

Simon Borg is a senior editor at The Sporting News who has covered football/soccer for over a decade. A supporter of Italian club Parma Calcio from his years growing up in Europe, he was previously a long-time member of Major League Soccer's digital media team, as a multimedia content producer, on-air personality, and Editor-in-Chief. Based in New York City, Borg is multilingual and has covered the domestic and global scene for TSN since 2021.