Higuaín was selected for Argentina by coach Diego Maradona for the last 2010 FIFA World Cup qualification games against Peru and Uruguay. He scored his first goal on his full debut, a 49th-minute strike during a 2–1 win over Peru on 10 October 2009. Following Argentina's qualification, Higuaín was included in the squad for the 2010 FIFA World Cup. He scored a hat-trick in Argentina's 4–1 win over South Korea in their second group match, becoming the third Argentinian to score a hat-trick in the World Cup finals after Guillermo Stábile in 1930 and Gabriel Batistuta in 1994 and 1998, and the first player to score a hat-trick in the tournament since 2002. His goal in the 3–1 win over Mexico in the second round took him to a total of four, sending him clear as the second-top goalscorer in the competition. 2011 Copa América Higuaín was a member of Sergio Batista's Argentine squad for the 2011 Copa América on home soil, making one substitute appearance and one start in the group as Carlos Tevez was preferred at centre forward; Argentina advanced in second place behind Colombia. He started against Uruguay in the quarter-finals in Santa Fe, and equalised in the 17th minute by heading Lionel Messi's cross past goalkeeper Fernando Muslera; he later had another goal disallowed for offside. Higuaín scored in the penalty shoot-out after his shot had hit both posts, but Argentina lost the shoot-out 4–5. 2011–2014: 2014 World Cup qualifying On 8 October 2011, Higuaín scored a hat-trick and assisted one goal in a 4–1 win against Chile. On 2 June 2012, he scored the second goal in their 2014 World Cup qualifying match and assisted one goal in Argentina's 4–0 victory over Ecuador. On 7 September 2012, Higuaín scored the second goal in their 2014 World Cup South American qualifier match and assisted one goal in Argentina's 3–1 victory over Paraguay. Then, on 11 September, Higuaín scored the equalizer for Argentina in a 1–1 draw with Peru in Lima. On 22 March 2013, Higuaín scored twice as Argentina beat Venezuela 3–0 to make him top scorer in the South American section of World Cup qualifying with nine goals. He ended the 2014 qualifying campaign as the joint third-top scorer in CONMEBOL, alongside Radamel Falcao and behind Messi and Luis Suárez. 2014 World Cup Higuaín was named by manager Alejandro Sabella in Argentina's 23-man squad for