Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick on Thursday to overtake Pele as the top international goalscorer in South American football history as Argentina registered a 3-0 win over Bolivia in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers. Messi scored his 77th, 78th and 79th international goals to propel Argentina to a place in the final in Qatar next year, with Bolivia lying at the bottom of the table.
The 34-year-old Paris Saint-Germain forward, making his 153rd appearance for Argentina, hit a long-time mark of 77 goals off Pele in the 14th minute, passing a nutmeg to a defender and then one in front of Bolivian goalkeeper Carlos Lampe. Curling a brilliant shot, came to level.
The Argentine captain overtook Pele once in the 64th minute with his second night out, climbing into the Bolivian box and playing a one-two with Lautaro Martínez before securing a finish from close range.
Messi completed his seventh international hat-trick of his career in two minutes from time, burying a rebound from close range after a shot from the edge of the field only to be followed by a shot by Lampe.
Cristiano Ronaldo, the former Barcelona star’s great rival, holds the outright record for goalscoring in international football with 111 from 180 games.
The victory came just four days after Argentina were embroiled in a brawl with regional rivals Brazil in Sao Paulo, with the two-team qualifier on Sunday being abandoned after seven minutes due to a Covid-19 dispute.
The game was halted after Brazilian officials protested the participation of England players Giovanni Lo Celso and Tottenham’s Cristian Romero, and Aston Villa’s Emiliano Martinez and Emiliano Buendia.
All four players, who were accused by Brazil of tampering with the country’s entry records, played no part in Thursday’s game in Buenos Aires after being released from the team by the Argentine Football Association.
There was no sign of a hangover from a brawl between Argentine players on Thursday, as Messi quickly took center stage to surpass Brazilian great Pele’s record.
In Messi’s generally indecisive form, the Argentine could have had more goals.
Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martínez, who had also dismissed a first-half goal offside, should have scored after Messi was set up with a fine chance on 39 minutes, taking his shot from close range.
Messi could also have scored a second goal in the first half, joining tactfully with PSG teammate Angel Di Maria before flashing a curling shot wide.
However, the goal eventually came in the second half for Messi as Argentina took home.
The win leaves the two-time World Cup winners in second place in South America’s overall qualifying standings with 18 points from eight matches.
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