Lionel Messi, arguably the greatest footballer of all time, scored a fantastic hat-trick last night to help Argentina beat Bolivia 6-0 in FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifying.

Argentina took their seventh win in ten games to stay top of the South American standings at the Estadio Mâs Monumental. It is a foregone conclusion that they will qualify and defend their World Cup title in 2026, even with eight rounds of qualifying matches still to play.

Bolivia recorded a historic run of three straight wins and have a real chance of qualifying for the World Cup themselves, but they were humbled by Messi’s magic in Buenos Aires on Tuesday night.

The famous number 10 opened the scoring after taking advantage of an error in Bolivia’s backline. He roared into the area and slotted the ball past the keeper at the near post with the finesse you would expect. Martínez, Álvarez and later Alameda would all add goals to put Argentina 4-0 ahead and well out of reach.

Just when you thought the entertainment was coming to an end, Lionel Messi turned on the turbo boosters again. He emerged on the edge of the penalty area in the 84th minute, faked a shot from the left and opened space to unleash the 5-0 goal with a right.

Two minutes later, the magical man completed his stunning hat-trick with the most impressive finish of the evening. The captain collected the ball more than 30 meters from goal and completed a move reminiscent of his best playing days in Barcelona.

That ‘one-two’ was played inside, leaving the outside of his left boot before cutting inside to collect the return ball. He twitched, fainted and dropped the shoulder on the edge of the penalty area, all in the blink of an eye, and just when you thought the defenders had got him, he unleashed a strike that flew low and hard past the goalkeepers’ right .

It was also a special moment for Nico Paz, the youngster who has just made his debut for Argentina and provided the simple but crucial assist for Messi that he will undoubtedly tell his grandchildren about in the future. Messi is 37 and Paz is only 20 years old, the latter said to have grown up idolizing the former. Almost two young people have seen his best work.

Messi truly turned back the years on a magical night in Buenos Aires, where his name rang from the stands and his talent shone as ever. Despite his age and poor fitness, he will be the most dangerous player on the football field as long as he can walk.

Argentina now has 22 points and leads Colombia, which is in second place. Bolivia drops to seventh place, but is just one point away from an automatic qualification spot. You can read about the rest of Tuesday night’s qualifiers here.