On March 28, Argentina played its second friendly match to celebrate the Albiceleste's Qatar 2022 World Cup title win. The game, featuring Argentina's stars under head coach Lionel Scaloni was held at Estadio Único Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero against Curaçao. Argentina had previously defeated Panama 2-0. Curaçao suffered a crushing 7-0 defeat, with Messi scoring a hat trick. His first goal was his 100th in an Argentina jersey. Nico González, Enzo Fernández, Ángel Di María, and Gonzalo Montiel scored the other goals that Room faced that night in 2023.
At the end of the match, while Argentina celebrated with the crowd, Messi approached Room on the field to ask to exchange jerseys, a rare gesture in modern soccer when most players swap shirts in the locker room. Room, born in Nijmegen, the Netherlands, shared the moment on social media.
A dream come true.
After his performance against Ecuador, Room reflected on both nights when asked about the Messi game and his latest World Cup outing.
The game against Messi was truly special, and he asked me for my jersey, too. It was a great moment in my career. This game [against Ecuador] was also crazy, but I'm not going to give this jersey to anyone. I'm keeping it for myself…
The jersey exchange from that 2023 friendly has resurfaced alongside Room's World Cup form, linking Messi's gesture to Curaçao's standout goalkeeper at the tournament.
