Argentina's Lionel Messi showed his class once again for his national team as he raced to his 10th international hat-trick while representing his nation in the 6-0 thumping of Bolivia during the FIFA World Cup qualifiers on October 16.
An all-round performance from the talisman saw him registering 2 assists along with his hat-trick to complete a five-star performance on the night.
Messi's hat-trick also drew him level with his age-old rival Cristiano Ronaldo in terms of most international hat-tricks in football.
Here are the players with most international hat-tricks -
Most international hattricks in football | ||
Player | Country | Hattricks |
Pele | Brazil | 7 hattricks |
Ali Daei | Iran | 8 hattricks |
Sven Rydell | Sweden | 9 hattricks |
Cristiano Ronaldo | Portugal | 10 hattricks |
Lionel Messi | Argentina | 10 hatricks |
Messi masterclass for Argentina
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Messi looked at his best as the 37-year-old was in the middle of most of the attacks created by the World Champions. Lautaro Martinez, Julian Alvarez, and Nicolas Otamendi scored the other goals in what was a dominant performance by the side on the night.
The goal that stood out was Messi's hat-trick goal, as he dribbled past the Bolivian back-line and slotted the ball in trademark fashion into the bottom left corner to complete his record-equalling 10th international hat-trick.
Messi now has 846 career goals to his name—an unbelievable statistic that sets him apart from the rest of the lot in football history.
Argentina sit comfortably at the top of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers table with 22 points from 10 games so far. They are followed by Colombia (19 points), Uruguay (16 points), and Brazil (16 points) respectively. The 2022 World champions look well on track to defend their crown at the global level and write another chapter in the illustrious history books for the nation.