Lionel Messi moved up to fourth in the all-time scoring charts in men's international football
Lionel Messi scored all five of Argentina's goals as they continued their fine form by thrashing Estonia in a friendly in Pamplona, Spain.
The Argentines swept aside Italy 3-0 in the Finalissima - a game between the champions of Europe and South America - on Wednesday.
Messi provided two assists in that game and he was once again in vintage form.
He opened the scoring with a penalty and then struck two more goals in either half to complete the rout.
It is the first time the 34-year-old has scored five in a game for his country. In fact, he has only ever achieved the feat once before in his career, in a 7-1 win for Barcelona over Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League in 2012.
His third against Estonia, two minutes after half-time, took him level on 84 goals with Ferenc Puskas as the fourth highest-scorer in the history of men's international football.
Fourteen minutes later, his fourth of the game meant he had surpassed the legendary Hungarian and now holds that position outright, behind only Malaysia's Mokhtar Dahari (89), Iran's Ali Daei (109) and Portugal's Cristiano Ronaldo (117).
He would have been closer still to Ronaldo, but the Portuguese scored twice in his country's Nations League game against Switzerland on Sunday.
While Estonia did not provide the sternest of tests, this result, coupled with the victory over Italy, their unbeaten World Cup qualifying campaign and last year's Copa America triumph, suggests Messi could yet have a great chance of winning the one trophy that has eluded him in his glittering career - the World Cup.
- Line-upsMatch StatsLive Text
Line-upsArgentina
Formation 4-3-3
1Armani26Molina6Pezzella16MartÃnez8Acuña7de Paul5Mac Allister17Gómez9Ãlvarez10Messi19Correa
- 1Armani26MolinaSubstituted forMontielat 74'minutes6Pezzella16MartÃnezSubstituted forSenesiat 62'minutes8AcuñaSubstituted forGonzálezat 73'minutes7de PaulSubstituted forPalaciosat 62'minutes5Mac AllisterSubstituted forFoythat 66'minutes17Gómez9Ãlvarez10Messi19CorreaSubstituted forDybalaat 62'minutes
Substitutes
- 2Foyth3Tagliafico4Montiel11Di MarÃa12Rulli14Palacios15González18RodrÃguez20Lo Celso21Dybala23Musso25Senesi
Estonia
Formation 3-5-2
1Igonen16Pürg15Paskotsi18Mets23Teniste21Miller13Soomets4Käit3Pikk10Zenjov9Sorga
- 1Igonen16PürgSubstituted forKuuskat 63'minutes15Paskotsi18Mets23Teniste21MillerSubstituted forVassiljevat 63'minutes13Soomets4KäitSubstituted forSinyavskiyat 63'minutes3PikkSubstituted forKallasteat 69'minutes10ZenjovSubstituted forAnierat 45'minutes9SorgaSubstituted forKirssat 83'minutes
Substitutes
- 2Kuusk5Kreida6Lukka7Puri8Anier11Sinyavskiy12Hein14Vassiljev17Kirss19Kallaste20Poom22Vallner
Referee:Urs SchnyderMatch StatsHome TeamArgentinaAway TeamEstoniaPossessionHome79%Away21%ShotsHome24Away4Shots on TargetHome10Away2CornersHome10Away0FoulsHome7Away8Live TextPost update
Match ends, Argentina 5, Estonia 0.
90'+1'Full Time
Second Half ends, Argentina 5, Estonia 0.
90'+1'Post update
Attempt missed. Lionel Messi (Argentina) left footed shot from outside the box is close, but misses the top left corner from a direct free kick.
90'Post update
Paulo Dybala (Argentina) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
90'Post update
Foul by Ken Kallaste (Estonia).
89'Post update
Corner, Argentina. Conceded by Taijo Teniste.
89'Post update
Attempt blocked. Lionel Messi (Argentina) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked. Assisted by Papu Gómez.
87'Post update
Corner, Argentina. Conceded by Matvei Igonen.
87'Post update
Attempt saved. Papu Gómez (Argentina) right footed shot from the right side of the box is saved in the bottom right corner. Assisted by Exequiel Palacios.
85'Post update
Papu Gómez (Argentina) wins a free kick in the attacking half.
85'Post update
Foul by Taijo Teniste (Estonia).
84'Post update
Corner, Argentina. Conceded by Karol Mets.
84'Post update
Attempt blocked. Paulo Dybala (Argentina) left footed shot from the centre of the box is blocked.
83'Substitution
Substitution, Estonia. Robert Kirss replaces Erik Sorga.
82'Post update
Foul by Papu Gómez (Argentina).
82'Post update
Erik Sorga (Estonia) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
82'Post update
Attempt blocked. Vlasiy Sinyavskiy (Estonia) right footed shot from the left side of the box is blocked. Assisted by Ken Kallaste.
79'Post update
Juan Foyth (Argentina) wins a free kick in the defensive half.
79'Post update
Foul by Henri Anier (Estonia).
76'goalGoal!
Goal! Argentina 5, Estonia 0. Lionel Messi (Argentina) left footed shot from the centre of the box to the centre of the goal.
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Source: bbc.com