Buenos Aires: Lionel Messi delivered a classic hat trick as the world champion Argentina team cruised to a 6-0 victory over Bolivia in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers on Tuesday.
At 37, Messi gave a commanding performance with three precise finishes, two assists, and his signature creative play, leading Lionel Scaloni’s team to dominate the match.
The celebrated eight-time Ballon d’Or recipient initiated the scoring in the 19th minute after Bolivian defender Marcelo Suarez lost possession to Lautaro Martinez, who then set Messi up for a clever finish into the bottom corner.
The local supporters at Buenos Aires’ Monumental Stadium rose to their feet in the 43rd minute as Julian Alvarez delivered a superb pass to Messi, who then selflessly set up Martinez for the goal.
Just three minutes later, Alvarez found the net after Bolivia was caught off-guard at a free-kick. Messi lofted the ball over, and the Atletico Madrid striker confidently finished the play.
Following the interval, Nicolas Otamendi’s header was disallowed for offside. However, the home crowd didn’t have to wait much longer for the fourth goal, as Thiago Almada neatly side-footed the ball into the net following an excellent pull-back from Nahuel Molina.
In the 84th minute, Messi scored a signature goal to make it 5-0, dribbling from the centre before deftly switching from his left to his right foot and driving the ball into the bottom corner.
Just two minutes later, Messi brought some fans to tears when he sliced in from the right, executed a clever one-two with substitute Nico Paz, and once more sent the ball past goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra. Argentina leads the 10-team table with 22 points from 10 games, three points ahead of second-placed Colombia.
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