Messi breaks the legend Pele's record by hating Argentina against Bolivia in the World Cup qualifiers

Argentine star Lionel Messi broke the number of Brazilian legend Pele and topped the list of top scorers for the South American Football Confederation (CONMEBOL), after scoring a hat-trick with which he led the Argentine national team to victory over his Bolivian counterpart 3-0 Thursday evening (Friday morning GMT) in the qualifying qualifiers to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.

Messi set the record for the most goals scored by a player for his country at the level of South American teams, through his second and third goals against Bolivia, where he raised his score to 79 goals.

Messi, 34, equaled Pele's number by scoring his 77th international goal when he opened the scoring for Argentina in the 14th minute, then added the second goal in the 64th minute before completing his hat-trick and enhancing his number by scoring the third goal in the 88th minute.

The Argentine team, coached by Lionel Scaloni, raised its score to 18 points in second place in the CONMEBOL qualifiers, where it achieved its fifth victory against three draws, and the team maintained its unbeaten record for the 22nd match in all competitions.

The victory over Bolivia came a few days after Argentina's match against Brazil in Sao Paulo was interrupted in a chaotic atmosphere.

The match was suspended after officials from the Brazilian health authorities entered the field to prevent four players from the Argentine national team, who are professionals in the English Premier League, from participating in the match.

This step came due to a conflict with the protocols to combat the emerging corona virus in Brazil, as the regulations stipulate that anyone coming from Britain to Brazil must be subject to a 14-day quarantine.

The Argentine team was able to continue its good results in the record of matches at home against Bolivia, as it did not lose in 15 matches in Argentina, and it was its thirteenth victory over Bolivia, compared to two draws in these matches.

After Messi opened the scoring for Argentina in the 14th minute, Lautaro Martinez almost celebrated by scoring the team's second goal 12 minutes later, but offside prevented that.

Martinez missed a valuable opportunity in the 39th minute, when he received a perfect pass from Messi, but he hit a ball that went right next to the post.

Argentina had more than one other opportunity to consolidate the lead during the first half, but the team did not take advantage of it, and Bolivian goalkeeper Carlos Lambi was lucky not to concede a net again in the first half.

In the second half, the Bolivian team intensified its offensive activity and put pressure on its Argentine counterpart, but did not threaten its goal significantly. Messi strengthened Argentina's lead in the 64th minute and celebrated the record before adding the third goal in the 88th minute.

Argentina will play its next World Cup qualifier against Paraguay on October 6, and Bolivia will meet Ecuador on the same day.

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