PAMPLONA: Argentina striker Lionel Messi scored five goals in a 5-0 friendly win over Estonia on Sunday, a result which helped him overtake Hungary’s great Ferenc Puskas among the all-time international top scorers.

The former Barcelona player got to shine once more on Spanish soil in a match played at the El Sadar stadium in the northern city of Pamplona, 430 kilometres from what for 21 years he called home.

Messi, who has now netted 86 times in 162 games on international duty, opened the scoring with a penalty kick in the eighth minute as he waited for goalkeeper Matvei Igonen to commit before firing the ball into the bottom right corner.

The 34-year-old doubled Argentina’s lead just before halftime, adding another goal two minutes into the second half. He sealed the score with two more strikes in the 71st and 76th minutes.

Meanwhile, coach Danny Hay said that “we learned a hell of a lot” after his New Zealand team lost 1-0 to Peru in a warm-up match for their World Cup playoff.

New Zealand face Costa Rica on June 14 in Doha with a spot at November-Dece­mber’s Qatar World Cup at stake and Hay said that facing Peru had been ideal preparation despite the defeat.

Gianluca Lapadula scored the winner in the 69th minute at RCDE Stadium in Bar­celona on Sunday when New Zealand goalkeeper Oli Sail miscontrolled a backpass.

“I learnt a huge amount,” Hay told reporters after the friendly loss in front of a boisterous pro-Peru crowd.

“That’s the first time since November 2019 that we’ve actually played in front of a crowd [because of Covid], believe it or not.”

Elsewhere, in the other friendly Colombia down Sau­dia Arabia 1-0 at Estadio Nueva Condomina when Borre Maury scored in the ninth minute.

The South Americans attac­ked aggressively from the kickoff, getting in behind what was a dull Saudi Ara­bian defence to take the lead.

It was a flowing move and finished off well but a short pass on the right wing cut open the defence.

Published in Dawn,June 7th, 2022