Lionel Messi has overtaken Diego Maradona's international goal tally after a hat-trick in an international friendly with Guatemala.

Messi started in the game, after having come on as a substitute in recent 2014 World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Ecuador, and fired Argentina into the lead 15 minutes in.

The Barcelona man was the star of the show as he crossed for Augusto Fernandez to head home in the 35th minute before slotting a penalty to make it 3-0. Messi then completed his hat-trick with a simple finish just after the break.

Messi was used in a largely experimental side on the night and added to international hat-tricks that he has scored against Switzerland and Brazil.

The strikes took the four-time Fifa Balon d'Or winner to a tally of 35, one more than Maradona, and left him level with Hernan Crespo. Gabriel Batistuta is the leader with 56 goals.

"That was the least important thing," Messi told TyC Sports when he was asked about overtaking Maradona's tally. "We wanted to play well in this friendly. The team's attitude was right."