Buenos Aires: Lionel Messi struck a hat-trick as Argentina rout Bolivia 3-0 in the FIFA 2022 South American World Cup Qualifiers on Thursday in Buenos Aires. The mercurial Argentine magician went above Pele as South America’s top international scorer with 79 goals in front of the home fans who were allowed for the first time since the start of the ongoing pandemic.
Messi opened the deadlock after 14 minutes showing his stellar individual brilliance taking the ball from the midfield despite being marked before turning to curl the ball into the net from just outside the box.
He then did superb a one-two with Lautaro Martinez in a packed penalty box slotting it home before completing the hat-trick with two minutes left, crashing home a rebound from close range. While Angel Di Maria had a superb game combining well with his skipper to create scoring opportunities. Argentina now placed themselves just six points behind leaders Brazil.
Elsewhere, Brazil continued their winning streak in the qualifiers with a 2-0 victory over Peru at the Arena de Pernambuco in Pernambuco. The hosts were dominant right from the start as Peru’s defence was finding it hard to contain the fluid Brazilian attackers.
The Selecao opened the scoring through Everton Ribeiro who was set up superbly by Neymar with the Brazil no.10 finding his man unmarked in the box. These two later involved as Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese blocked Everton’s initial shot before Neymar tapped it securing the victory.
It was the ninth home qualifier in a row where the hosts have kept a clean sheet and their eighth win from eight Qatar 2022 qualifiers.
