Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick to overtake Pele as the top international goalscorer in South American football history on Thursday as Argentina cruised to a 3-0 victory over Bolivia in their 2022 World Cup qualifier. Messi pounced for his 77th, 78th and 79th international goals to keep Argentina firmly on course for a place at next year’s finals in Qatar against a Bolivia team languishing near the foot of the table. The 34-year-old Paris Saint-Germain forward, making his 153rd appearance for Argentina, drew level with Pele’s longstanding mark of 77 goals in the 14th minute, nutmegging a defender and then curling a sublime shot past Bolivia goalkeeper Carlos Lampe. Messi completed the seventh international hat-trick of his career two minutes from time, burying a rebound from close range after a shot from the edge of the area was only parried by Lampe.
