Argentina and Lionel Messi do not want this celebration to end.
The defending World Cup winners finished their home celebration tour with a 7-0 victory over Curacao, highlighted by Lionel Messi’s first-half hat-trick. This victory is anticipated to propel Argentina to the top of the FIFA world rankings.
Argentina captain led his team’s first-half explosion with three of his team’s five goals before intermission, exactly 100 days after hoisting the World Cup trophy. Messi’s first goal was the 100th of his Argentina career, making him one of only three men’s athletes in history to do so.
The second half saw the usual flurry of substitutions on both teams, but the home side added two more goals thanks to an Angel Di Maria penalty and a goal by the World Cup final penalty shootout hero, Gonzalo Montiel.
Argentina’s last game before a reported June trip of Asia (June 14-20), where they will play two friendlies. This will be followed by the start of 2026 World Cup qualifying in September, with home games against Ecuador and road games against Bolivia.
Argentina vs Curacao final score
| 1H | 2H | Final | |
| Argentina | 5 | 2 | 7 |
| Curacao | 0 | 0 | 0 |
Goals:
ARG — Lionel Messi (Giovani Lo Celso) — 20th min.
ARG — Nico Gonzalez — 23rd min.
ARG — Lionel Messi (Nico Gonzalez) — 33rd min.
ARG — Enzo Fernandez (Lionel Messi) — 35th min.
ARG — Lionel Messi (Giovani Lo Celso) — 37th min.
ARG — Angel Di Maria (penalty) — 79th min.
ARG — Gonzalo Montiel (Paulo Dybala) — 87th min.
Lineups:
Argentina (4-3-3, right to left): 23-‘Dibu’ Martinez (GK) (1-Armani, 80′) — 4-Montiel, 6-Pezzella, 19-Otamendi (2-Foyth 49′), 8-Acuna — 17-Lo Celso (21-Di Maria, 67′), 24-E. Fernandez (14-Palacios, 49′), 20-Mac Allister (7-De Paul, 49′) — 10-Messi, 22-La. Martinez (21-Dybala, 67′), 16-N. Gonzalez
Curacao (4-2-3-1, right to left): 1-Room (GK) — 3-Gaari, 2-Martina, 4-Van Eijma (19-Troupee, 73′), 5-Floranus — 10-L. Bacuna (20-Felida, 84′), 6-Anita (8-Roemeratoe, 84′) — 17-Kuwas (16-Severina, 73′), 7-J. Bacuna, 14-Gorre (11-Zivkovic, 68′) — 9-Janga (21-Antonisse, 58′)
Messi makes history
Lionel Messi now has 102 goals for Argentina in 174 appearances for the senior national team and when he’s dialed in, the rest of his teammates raise their game. Messi was sharp, making darting runs and quick decisions in the attack. You can’t help but notice the chemistry with his Argentina teammates, something which is still missing at his club team PSG.
Lo Celso shines for Argentina
Argentina winning the World Cup to end their drought was a significant accomplishment in 2022. It was even more remarkable to have done it without Giovani Lo Celso. That’s how important the playmaker was for Argentina in the buildup to the World Cup. And against Curacao, Argentina got everything they lost from Lo Celso: exquisite passing, quality touches, vision, and the ability to make Messi even more dangerous than he already is. The statistics from the game reveal the entire story:
What comes next for Argentina
Argentina scheduled two easy opponents (Panama and Curacao) in this window to enable the team to celebrate with the fans. These matches were not intended to be about the specifics of each effort. It was an opportunity for the World Cup squad to take a bow in front of its adoring fans. Mission accomplished.
The fact that the next matches will be held in Asia in June provides an opportunity for the squad to transition from the 2022 World Cup to a new four-year cycle. For the time being, boss Lionel Scaloni appears to have persuaded Messi and Di Maria to stay, at least until the 2024 Copa America.