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• Messi hopes the 'craziness never ends' after 100th international goal and wild celebrations

  Lionel Messi hopes the "craziness never ends" after scoring his 100th goal and ninth hat-trick for his country amid Argentina's homecoming World Cup celebrations on Tuesday.

  La Albiceleste routed Curacao 7-0 in Santiago del Estero, with Messi's 20th-minute opener bringing up his 100th international goal, joining only Cristiano Ronaldo (122) and Ali Daei (109) in achieving that feat.

  Messi became the first world champion to score 100 international goals, and he showed no signs of stopping there with further first-half strikes for a treble, taking him to 102.

  The milestone came as Argentina rounded out their first two games back in their homeland since December's World Cup triumph with wild celebrations, initially in Buenos Aires for Thursday's 2-0 win over Panama.

  The players emulated their celebrations from Qatar after the Curacao game, hoisting the World Cup trophy again after it came down from the stadium roof and doing a lap of honour to greet the supporters.

  Messi was also presented with a plaque by Argentine Football Association president Claudio Tapia to acknowledge his 100th goal.

  "What a nice way to close these dates, impressive today all the people in Santiago del Estero," Messi wrote on Instagram.

  "I wish we can continue to share together many moments like these and that this craziness never ends!!!"

  Messi's achievement comes after netting 21 goals in his 14 games for Argentina, along with seven assists. That has taken him to 156 goal contributions, which is the most in international football.

  Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni added: "As for Lionel Messi, what I want is for him to be on the pitch and be happy."

  He added: "These days were different to the previous friendlies because the players were allowed to be with their people.

  "We felt that they had that desire to go out to contact the outside, although that meant that it was difficult to prepare these two games. But in the end we got them through by playing with intensity."

• Argentina 7-0 Curacao: Messi caps 100th international goal with first-half hat-trick

  Lionel Messi scored his 100th international goal before capping his performance with a first-half hat-trick as Argentina routed Curacao 7-0 during Tuesday's friendly in Santiago del Estero.

  Messi came into the game on 99 international goals but did not need to wait long to bring up triple figures, netting a 20th-minute opener, in a lopsided match-up where the world champions raced to a 5-0 half-time lead.

  The Argentinian captain played the entire 90 minutes, scoring three goals within 17 devastating first-half minutes, while he also laid off the assist for Enzo Fernandez's powerful strike among the flurry.

  Messi was denied early on by Curacao goalkeeper Eloy Room's sharp save, but soon after Giovani Lo Celso found him in space inside the box, setting him up to jink past two defenders and fire in a low right-foot shot for his 100th Argentina goal.

  Nicolas Gonzalez added a second in the 23rd minute when he out-jumped Room to head home from a corner, before he played provider for Messi's second with a neat left-foot finish in the 33rd minute.

  Two minutes later, Messi held up the ball and dished out a deft pass for Fernandez to lash home, with the Paris Saint-Germain star wrapping up his hat-trick when he raced on to Lo Celso's lofted pass and coolly converted after taking two touches.

  Room brilliantly denied Lautaro Martinez twice early in the second half, while Leandro Bacuna fizzed Curacao's best chance over the bar from a 63rd-minute free-kick on the edge of the box.

  Substitute Angel Di Maria added a sixth goal from the penalty spot in the 78th minute after Cuco Martina's handball, with Gonzalo Montiel side-footing home another from Paulo Dybala's cutback in the 88th minute.

• Arteta issues Saka warning - 'He has room for improvement'

  Arsenal manager Mikel Arteta has heaped praise on Bukayo Saka for his consistency but claims the youg star still has room for improvement.

  Saka has been a key pillar in Arsenal's Premier League success this term, with the side sitting eight points clear of second-placed Manchester City as they chase their first league title since 2003-04.

  Only Manchester City's Erling Haaland and Tottenham's Harry Kane have more combined goals and assists in the league this season, with Saka having netted 12 goals with 10 assists. Saka has also started all 28 of Arsenal's league games this campaign.

  "First of all, I think you have to recognise what he's been doing," Arteta told Sky Sports about 21-year-old Saka.

  "The consistency he's shown at his age and at this level is something rare to see. He's taken it with normality.

  "If you ask me if he has room for improvement, I would say: 'Yes - a lot.' He's never satisfied, he always wants more and he can still do a lot of things better and more efficiently, but we are really pleased to have him."

  Talks are ongoing between Arsenal and Saka on a new deal, with his current contract due to expire in 2024.

  Last week former Arsenal centre-back Kolo Toure urged the club to sign Saka on a 10-year deal to secure his long-term future.

  Saka was outstanding for England at last year's World Cup and netted in Sunday's 2-0 win over Ukraine at Wembley.