Argentina crushed Bolivia 6-0 in their World Cup qualifying match, and Lionel Messi scored his tenth international hat-trick.
The 37-year-old attacker for Inter Miami tied Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo for the most hat-tricks in men’s international football after setting up two goals at Buenos Aires’ Monumental Stadium.
Despite losing to Colombia in September and drawing with Venezuela last week, Argentina leads Colombia by three points at the top of the South American qualifying group for the 2026 World Cup.
“Coming here and feeling the love of the people is truly pleasant. The way they yell my name moves me,” Messi remarked.
“Enjoying my current state of happiness is what motivates me. I feel like a kid here, even though I’m older, because I’m at ease with this team. I’ll continue to love it as long as I’m feeling good and can continue to perform as I want to.”
Messi, who is playing for Argentina for just the second time since getting hurt at the Copa America in July, took advantage of a defensive blunder to give them the lead after 19 minutes.
He assisted Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez before Thiago Almada, a replacement, made it 4-0.
Late in the game, Messi scored twice in two minutes. He beat two defenders to score his second goal and found the bottom corner to complete his hat-trick.
In 189 games for Argentina, Messi has scored 112 goals, second only to Ronaldo’s 133 goals in men’s international competitions.
In Brasilia, struggling Brazil defeated Peru 4-0, with two goals from Raphinha to give them back-to-back wins.
Prior to their victory over Chile on Thursday, Brazil, the five-time World Cup champions, had dropped four of their previous five qualifiers.
After ten games, Dorival Junior’s team is six points behind Argentina in fourth place.
The top six teams are guaranteed spots in the United States, Mexico, and Canada for the 2026 World Cup.
Prior to late goals from Andreas Pereira of Fulham and Luiz Henrique, Raphinha scored from a penalty kick in either half.
“This was necessary. “Winning both games was crucial to getting back on track,” Raphinha told TV Globo.
Colombia defeated Chile 4-0, with Jhon Duran, the in-form striker for Aston Villa, scoring his eighth goal of the season overall.
Luis Sinisterra of Bournemouth, Luis Diaz of Liverpool, and Davinson Sanchez also scored in Barranquilla.
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