BUENOS AIRES 鈥 Lionel Messi scored his 10th international hat-trick and had a hand in two more goals as Argentina thrashed Bolivia 6-0 in South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in front of an adoring home crowd at the Monumental stadium on Tuesday.
Making only his second international appearance since recovering from an injury sustained at the Copa America in July, Messi capitalized on a mistake by defender Marcelo Suarez to open the scoring in the 19th minute.
Bolivia goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra made a couple of fine saves to prevent the hosts from extending their lead but he was beaten in the 43rd minute when Lautaro Martinez scored from Messi鈥檚 quick cross.
Argentina made it 3-0 just before the break, with Messi setting up Julian Alvarez to score.
Lionel Scaloni鈥檚 side controlled the second half and looked like they had extended their lead through Nicolas Otamendi, only to see the goal disallowed for offside.
Substitute Thiago Almada did make it 4-0, however, scoring from Nahuel Molina鈥檚 pass in the 70th minute with the venue transformed into an Argentine party.
Messi, 37, gave fans more reason to celebrate in the closing moments, beating two Bolivia defenders before unleashing a fierce shot past Viscarra to score his second.
Messi needed only two more minutes to complete the hat-trick, joining Portugal鈥檚 Cristiano Ronaldo with the most in men鈥檚 internationals, the Argentine skipper scoring with a left-footed drive to take his tally to 112 goals for his country.
鈥淚t鈥檚 really nice to come here, to feel the affection of the people, it moves me how they shout my name,鈥 Messi said.
鈥淭his drives me. Enjoying being happy where I am. Despite my age, when I鈥檓 here, I feel like a kid because I鈥檓 comfortable with this team. As long as I feel good and can keep performing the way I want, I鈥檒l keep enjoying it.鈥
Argentina are top of the standings with 22 points, having returned to winning ways after losing to Colombia last month and drawing with Venezuela last week.
The 2026 World Cup will be hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada. 鈥 Reuters
