On a day when Cristiano Ronaldo (Alnasr) was silent, his longtime rival, Lionel Messi (Inter Miami), exploded for three goals and two assists to lead Argentina to a dominant victory.
The Argentine national football team defeated Bolivia 6-0 on Friday (local time) at Estadio Mas Monumental in Buenos Aires, Argentina, in their 10th home match of the South American qualifying campaign for the FIFA Confederations Cup North America 2026.
Messi scored five goals to spearhead the victory. He also added two assists as he exploded for a hat trick.
Messi opened the scoring in the 19th minute after receiving the ball on the right flank and advancing to the doorstep, then made it 2-0 in the 43rd minute with a pinpoint pass to a surging Lautaro Martinez (Inter Milan) in a similar situation down the center.
Messi set up another goal in first-half stoppage time for Julian Alvarez 카지노사이트 (Atletico Madrid), who cut in from the back with a precise left-footed long pass.
With three attacking points in the first half alone, Messi was hungry for goals in the closing stages of the match.
After beating a defender in the penalty area in the 40th minute, Messi struck a right-footed mid-range shot that found the bottom corner of the opposite post, then rattled the net two minutes later with a low left-footed strike from a similar spot.
Argentina completed the 6-0 goal feast with Messi's five-goal haul and a goal from Thiago Almada (Botafogo) in the 24th minute of the second half.
With his three goals, Messi is now second on the all-time A-Match scoring list with 112 goals. He is now four goals clear of Iranian legend Ali Daiei (108).
Ronaldo is first in this category. The “soccer star of the century” has scored 133 goals since the mid-to-late 2000s, when he and Messi dominated European soccer.
The Portugal international was silent against Scotland (0-0 draw) after a three-game scoring streak.
Argentina, ranked No. 1 in the FIFA rankings, faltered in September when ace Messi was sidelined with an injury, including a 1-2 loss to Colombia during the A-Match.
In Messi's return, Argentina drew 1-1 with Venezuela on Oct. 10, and then exploded for six goals against Bolivia in a showcase of the world's most dominant team.