Lionel Messi scored his 10th hat-trick on international scene in Argentina’s 6-0 victory over Bolivia in South America’s 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers.
The football superstar also provided two assists to make the Albiceleste stake a claim in front of an adoring home crowd at the Monumental Stadium.
Messi opened the scoring in the 19th minute, taking advantage of a mistake made by defender Marcelo Suarez. This was only his second appearance for his country since he recovered from an injury he suffered during the Copa America in July.
Guillermo Viscarra, the goalie for Bolivia, made a few excellent saves to keep the home team from expanding their lead. But he was blown out in the 43rd minute by Lautaro Martinez, who scored from Messi’s fast cross. Just before halftime, Messi assisted Julian Alvarez for Argentina’s third goal.
The second half was also dominated by Lionel Scaloni’s team. Through Nicolas Otamendi, it appeared as though they had increased their lead, but the goal was disallowed for offside.
In the 70th minute, substitute Thiago Almada scored another goal thanks to an assist from Nahuel Molina, giving the home team a 4-0 lead.
In the final moments of play, Messi, 37, gave Argentina supporters even more cause for celebration by beating two Bolivian players and then launching a powerful shot past Viscarra to score his second goal of the match.
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It took Messi just two more minutes to claim his hat-trick. With a left-footed effort, the Argentine captain increased his national scoring total to 112.
Lionel Messi’s latest hat-trick means the GOATs are perfectly balanced at international level ⚖️🎩 pic.twitter.com/23QBMJ1EWv
— OneFootball (@OneFootball) October 16, 2024
With the goal, Messi also tied Portugal superstar, Cristiano Ronaldo for the most hat-tricks in men’s international football.
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