Lionel Messi and Cristiano Ronaldo will be inextricably linked forever in footballing lore with the latest example coming after the Argentine’s hattrick against Bolivia.
Messi’s return of three goals took his tally to 10, tying Ronaldo’s record for the most international hat-tricks in men’s football.
The Inter Miami forward opened the scoring in the 19th minute before adding his second and third in the 84th and 86th minutes, taking his goal-scoring counter to 846.
Bolivia is the 9th nation against whom Messi has scored three goals with Switzerland, Brazil, Guatemala, Panama, Ecuador, Haiti, Bolivia, Estonia, and Curacao being the others.
Ronaldo has found the net three times against Northern Ireland, Sweden, Armenia, Andorra, Faroe Islands, Spain, Switzerland, Lithuania (x2), and Luxembourg.
The 37-year-old trails only Ronaldo in international goals with the Portuguese sitting on 133 with Messi on 112
Alongside his hattrick during the game, Lionel Messi also provided two assists as Argentina wrapped up a comfortable 6-0 victory in their 2026 World Cup qualifier.
Despite a recent draw against Venezuela and a loss to Colombia in September, Argentina remains top of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying standings with 22 points.
The defending world champions will take on Paraguay in the next qualifier on November 14th.
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