"God of the game" "They told us he was finito" - Fans hail Lionel Messi as he nets hat-trick in Argentina's 6-0 win over Bolivia
Fans have lavished praise on Lionel Messi following his hat-trick in Argentina's 6-0 win over Bolivia in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday, October 15. The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner ran the show at El Monumental, setting up two more goals as well.
La Albiceleste started the game well and broke the deadlock through Lionel Messi in the 19th minute. The diminutive magician set up Lautaro Martinez in the 43rd minute to double the scoring. In the third minute of first-half injury time, the 37-year-old assisted Julian Alvarez, who gave Argentina a 3-0 lead going into the break.
The world champions' dominance continued in the second half, with Thiago Almada finding the back of the net in the 69th minute.
From then on, it was the Lionel Messi show. The Argentinean scored his second of the night in the 84th minute and completed his hat-trick two minutes later.
Following the game, Messi was hailed as the greatest ever.
Fans were quick to give their reaction to the stunning performance. One labeled the Argentinian as the God of the game.
"God of The game GOTG."
Another hit out at talks about the Barcelona legend being finished.
"They told us he was finito."
Another challenged Cristiano Ronaldo to do something similar, commenting:
"3 goals 2 assists…Penaldo do some and let's see."
Fans were generally elated by the player's performance with his nation. One noted:
"Of coure he saved the hattrick for a game in Argentina. What a man!"
Another wrote:
"Gives us joy like no other"
Another posted:
"Unmatched... absolutely no one comes close to him"
La Albiceleste are leading the South American qualifiers table after 10 games with 22 points.
How many goals has Lionel Messi scored for Argentina?
Lionel Messi has scored 112 goals for Argentina and is second behind archrival Cristiano Ronaldo (133) in the all-time list of men's international goalscorers. Interestingly, Tuesday's hat-trick was the player's 10th in Argentina colors, and he is now tied with the Portuguese for the most international hat-tricks by a men's footballer.
The Inter Miami superstar has achieved tremendous success with his nation in recent years. Messi won the Copa America in 2021 and lifted the Finalissima a year later.
However, he etched his name in gold after guiding Argentina to the 2022 FIFA World Cup trophy. The six-time European Golden Shoe winner also won the Copa America this year.
