Lionel Messi overtakes Pele in South America as Argentina beat Bolivia
Messi has now scored 79 goals for his country; Pele scored 77 for Brazil in his career
Lionel Messi replaced Pele as the top scorer in international football in South America on Thursday as he scored a hat-trick against Bolivia.
Messi scored his 77th, 78th and 79th goal for Argentina in the World Cup qualifier, overtaking Pele in the process, who netted 77 times for Brazil.
The win over BOlivia at the Estadio Monumental in Buneos Aires was Messi's 153rd for his country and extended his legend after the summer's Copa America success.
After Messi and Pele, Neymar is next on the list. Messi's Paris Saint-Germain teammate has scored 69 goals for Brazil and is also closing in on Pele.
Messi, 34, has been the top scorer for his country since 2016, when he replaced Gabriel Batistuta, who scored 54 times for the Albiceleste.
With the win. Argentina remain second in the standings in the race to Qatar 2022 after eight games, behind Brazil, who have won all eight of their fixtures to date.
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