Lionel Messi scored his 10th international hat trick to raise his career total to 112 goals and also had a pair of assists to lead Argentina over Bolivia 6-0 in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.
After missing a pair of October qualifiers while recovering from a right ankle injury sustained in the Copa América, Messi played the entire match before raucous fans at Estadio Monumental who chanted his name after he opened the scoring in the 19th minute.
“We enjoyed this, we are happy to be here playing in Argentina,” said Messi, who once again refused to say whether he will play in the next World Cup in 2026. “This could be one of the last (matches in front of the Argentinian crowd).”
Messi’s first goal came after a mistake by a Bolivian defender, who missed a pass and allowed Messi to run freely and finish unchallenged in front of goalkeeper Billy Viscarra. Messi assisted on Lautaro Martínez’s 43rd-minute goal and gave a decisive pass once again Julián Álvarez scored in the third minute of first-half stoppage time.
Messi added goals in the 84th and 86th minutes. The 37-year-old is second on the career scoring list behind the 133 of Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
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