Time's up! Argentina won 6-0 against Bolivia, with Messi alone contributing to 5 goals (3 goals, 2 assists). Argentina solidified their lead with 22 points, still 3 points ahead of Colombia.
The second half has 2 minutes of extra time.
Minute 86: Goal! Just 1 minute after the second goal, Messi completed his hat-trick. It was still a coordination of smashing and breaking through and finishing around the visitors' defenders. Argentina's 6th goal, Messi's 3rd.
Minute 85: Goal! Messi dribbled left-footed past the Bolivia defender, finishing with his right foot from outside the box, scoring to increase the score to 5-0.
Minute 82: Messi coordinated with Paredes and then broke through 3livarian players, however, his shot missed the goal.
Minute 73: Argentina continues to make substitutions. Otamendi and Lautaro leave the pitch, Lisandro Martinez and Nico Paz take their places.
Minute 70: Goal! Just a few minutes into the match, Almada appeared in time and cushioned the ball to score after a cross from Nahuel Molina.
Minute 65: Argentina changes 3 players. Rodrigo de Paul, Alvarez and Alexis McAllister were withdrawn. Exequiel Palacios, Thiago Almada and Leandro Paredes enter the field.
Update: Brazil opened the scoring in the 37th minute of the match against Peru. Raphinha successfully executed the 11m kick.
Minute 58: Messi placed a technical shot but the Bolivia defender headed the ball away.
Right in the corner kick that followed, Alvarez headed the ball close to the goal but the ball went over the bar.
Minute 52: After a few minutes of checking, the goal was disallowed.
Minute 49: Nicolas Otamendi headed the ball into the opponent's net but the referee reported an offside error. VAR stepped in to check.
08:10: The second half begins.
The first half ended. Although there is still the second half, it is possible to soon confirm the victory and the 22nd point for Argentina after 10 matches.
Minute 45+3: A quick free kick by Messi put Alvarez in a finishing position, scoring the third goal for Argentina. Messi has 2 assists.
The first half has 2 minutes of extra time.
Minute 42: Goal! Bolivia's team pushed up to attack and lost the ball, Alvarez sent a cross-line pass to Messi and despite facing the goalkeeper, the 37-year-old superstar still assisted Lautaro Martinez to score to make the score 2-0.
Minute 40: The away team could hardly attack the ball, Argentina controlled the ball 66%.
At the same time, the match between Brazil and Peru started - 15 minutes later than expected. Brazil is currently ranked 4th on the rankings with 13 points.
Minute 35: Another free kick for Messi, also in the same position. M10 shot better than last time, but the away team's goalkeeper excellently flew to block it.
Minute 30: Messi was very quick to place the ball in front of the free kick, however, his shot hit the fence.
Minute 19: Goal! An unfortunate mistake by thelivarian defender caused the ball to be blocked, leaping towards Messi and the Inter Miami star could not miss that gift with a shot into the near corner.
Minute 16: Argentina had the first shot on target. Julian Alvarez collaborated with Messi and finished the technique but it was not difficult enough.
Minute 14: It took nearly 15 minutes for the Bolivia team to get the ball into the Argentina penalty area, but the attacking player's header was too light.
Minute 10: The home team tries to attack with one-touch combinations in the middle before opening the sideline. But the away team is defending well.
Minute 5: Argentina quickly took control of the match right after the opening whistle. Good connection to circulate the ball widely.
07:03: The match begins.
Pre-match information
Argentina ended FIFA Days in September with a defeat (1-2 against Colombia) and started FIFA Days in October with a draw (1-1 at Venezuela). For the first time since June 2021, La Albiceleste have gone 2 consecutive matches without a win.
However, Lionel Messi and his teammates still firmly hold the leading position after the end of the first leg of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America. Not only that, they also increased their score gap with Colombia and Uruguay when both teams lost in the series on October 11.
Meanwhile, the presence of Bolivia in the 6th pick after 9 matches is clearly a surprise. Because since the 1994 World Cup, in the following qualifiers, people often see their names at the bottom of the rankings.
More encouragingly for Bolivia, in this qualifying round, the 6th ranked team also has a direct ticket to the 2026 World Cup, while the 7th place plays in the play-off. Of course, the race will be fierce, with many things happening, but in a good state of mind, Bolivia does not accept giving up early.
In the 20 previous matches, Argentina won 14 matches, including 9 home matches. They have never lost to Bolivia at home, but were held to a draw twice in 2011.
The last time Bolivia beat Argentina was 7 years ago, but at home in La Paz.
