Estonia endured a difficult build-up for their crucial UEFA Nations League clash against Malta on Thursday as Lionel Messi scored all the goals in Argentina’s 5-0 friendly win in Pamplona, Spain on Sunday.

Messi joins a select club comprising only Juan Andres Marvezy and Manuel Moreno to score five in a game for Argentina.

The seven-time Ballon d’Or scored from the spot in the eighth minute, then added four more in the space of half an hour (45, 47, 71 and 76 minutes).

His quintet extended his record tally of goals for his country to 86.

Lionel Scaloni’s side are unbeaten in 33 matches, the last loss a 2-0 defeat to Brazil in the semi-finals of the 2019 Copa America.

Continue reading this article on SportsDesk, the sports website of the Times of Malta

Sign up to our free newsletters

Get the best updates straight to your inbox:
Please select at least one mailing list.

You can unsubscribe at any time by clicking the link in the footer of our emails. We use Mailchimp as our marketing platform. By subscribing, you acknowledge that your information will be transferred to Mailchimp for processing.