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Lionel Messi Surpasses 100 Career Goals for Argentina

Argentina's forward Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring his team's first goal - his 100th with the national team - during the friendly football match between Argentina and Curacao at the Madre de Ciudades stadium in Santiago del Estero, in northern Argentina, on March 28, 2023. (AFP)
Argentina's forward Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring his team's first goal - his 100th with the national team - during the friendly football match between Argentina and Curacao at the Madre de Ciudades stadium in Santiago del Estero, in northern Argentina, on March 28, 2023. (AFP)
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Lionel Messi Surpasses 100 Career Goals for Argentina

Argentina's forward Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring his team's first goal - his 100th with the national team - during the friendly football match between Argentina and Curacao at the Madre de Ciudades stadium in Santiago del Estero, in northern Argentina, on March 28, 2023. (AFP)
Argentina's forward Lionel Messi celebrates after scoring his team's first goal - his 100th with the national team - during the friendly football match between Argentina and Curacao at the Madre de Ciudades stadium in Santiago del Estero, in northern Argentina, on March 28, 2023. (AFP)

Lionel Messi scored a hat trick and surpassed 100 career goals for Argentina with three in the first half of Tuesday's international friendly against Curacao.

The World Cup winners beat the Caribbean side 7-0 in their second match since clinching the trophy in December.

The 35-year-old Messi opened the scoring against Curacao in the 20th minute with a right-foot shot from the edge of the box to reach the 100-goal milestone.

Nico Gonzalez added another three minutes later with a header from close range.

Messi then scored his 101st for Argentina in the 33rd minute with a crossed shot to the right of the goalkeeper and his 102nd in the 37th after an easy run to score.

Two minutes earlier he had assisted Enzo Fernandez' blast from the edge of the box.

The Argentine captain trails only two players on the list of most goals scored for national teams in official matches; Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo, with 122, and Iran’s Ali Daei, with 109.

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Saudi Arabia’s Participation in Paris Olympics Part of Quality of Life Program, Al-Bakr Says

The efforts of the sports system have combined to achieve the strategic goal assigned by Vision 2030 to the Quality of Life Program. (SPA)
The efforts of the sports system have combined to achieve the strategic goal assigned by Vision 2030 to the Quality of Life Program. (SPA)
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Saudi Arabia’s Participation in Paris Olympics Part of Quality of Life Program, Al-Bakr Says

The efforts of the sports system have combined to achieve the strategic goal assigned by Vision 2030 to the Quality of Life Program. (SPA)
The efforts of the sports system have combined to achieve the strategic goal assigned by Vision 2030 to the Quality of Life Program. (SPA)

CEO of Saudi Arabia’s Quality of Life Program Khalid bin Abdullah Al-Bakr said on Friday the Kingdom’s participation in the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is part of integrated and comprehensive efforts to build a distinguished future for the sports sector in the Kingdom.

This will help reach the goals of the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 in achieving sports excellence and building a vital and stimulating sports sector for young Saudi men and women.

Al-Bakr said the participation reflects the support of the country’s wise leadership for the sports sector, as well as the efforts made by the Ministry of Sports and the Saudi Olympic and Paralympic Committee to develop the sector under the supervision of Sports Minister and Chairman of the Olympic and Paralympic Committee Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki bin Faisal.

The efforts of the sports system have combined to achieve the strategic goal assigned by Vision 2030 to the Quality of Life Program, which is “achieving excellence in several sports regionally and globally” by launching several initiatives on supporting and empowering Saudi athletes and contributing to increasing the number of athletes participating in the Olympic Games.

Since its launch in 2018, the program has offered many initiatives to develop the sports sector, Al-Bakr said. He cited the Elite Athletes Development Program, which trained and empowered Saudi players participating in the Paris Olympics, in addition to initiatives concerned with supporting and empowering women to contribute to the sports system, the Saudi Games, and building sports academies, including the establishment of Mahd Academy.

The program seeks to discover, develop, and support sports talents with the aim of creating a sports generation capable of competing in and representing the Kingdom in various regional and international events, he added.