The night sky was ablaze with fireworks of beautiful goals at Estadio Más Monumental in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Lionel Messi, the GOAT himself, dazzled the crowd with a magical goal during the clash. La Albiceleste knew the roaring home fans were eagerly awaiting a dominant win against the struggling Bolivians. The stadium erupted in the 19th minute when Messi, the goal machine, opened the scoring after a defensive lapse from Bolivia. Guillermo Viscarra couldn’t stop the powerful left-footed strike from the Argentine talisman, making it 1-0.
La Albiceleste’s merciless front three continued to torment the Bolivian defense, and in the 43rd minute, Lautaro Martínez struck again, assisted by Messi, making it 2-0. Still riding the momentum, Lionel Scaloni’s men celebrated once more when Julián Álvarez added another goal in the 3rd minute of added time before halftime. A brilliant Messi assist to the Atlético Madrid forward extended the score to 3-0. Peruvian referee Kevin Ortega then signaled the halftime break, offering some relief to Óscar Villegas’ side.
Just 25 minutes into the second half, former Atlanta FC man Thiago Almada found the net for 4-0, assisted by Nahuel Molina. Bolivia couldn’t cope with the relentless pressure from the Argentines. The stadium exploded with joy again when Messi scored a surprise low shot with his weaker right foot, assisted by Exequiel Palacios, extending the lead to 5-0, just six minutes from stoppage time.
With Lionel Scaloni’s men dominating the match, Messi completed his hat-trick in the 86th minute, assisted by Nico Paz, sealing the 6-0 thrashing.
The Bolivians were left in disbelief as La Albiceleste’s massive win solidified their position atop the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers table with 22 points from 10 games.
Elsewhere, Brazil cruised to a 4-0 win over Peru, Paraguay edged Venezuela 2-1, and Uruguay settled for a goalless draw with Ecuador in the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers.
