Central & South America

BUENOS AIRES — Lionel Messi scored his 10th international hat-trick and had a hand in two more goals as Argentina thrashed Bolivia 6-0 in South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in front of an adoring home crowd at the Monumental Stadium on Tuesday.

Lionel Messi vs Bolivia highlights

Making only his second international appearance since recovering from an injury sustained at the Copa America in July, Messi capitalized on a mistake by defender Marcelo Suarez to open the scoring in the 19th minute.

Venezuela pulled off a fantastic result in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying with a 1-1 draw vs. Argentina on Thursday. During a pause in the game for an injury there was a small skirmish between Lionel Messi and Venezuela’s Yeferson Soteldo.

When we say “small skirmish” we’re not talking about the heights of the players as Soteldo stands at 5 feet 3 inches tall and Messi is 5 feet 7 inches.

A former referee has admitted to have spared Lionel Messi from a second yellow card in return for his match-worn shirt.

Chilean refereee, Carlos Chandía, has confessed to having purposefully avoided giving Messi a booking. And all in the plan to receive the Argentine’s jersey at the end of a match.

Chandía was in charge of the 2007 Copa America semifinal match between Argentina and Mexico, with the Albiceleste blowing past El Tri with a 3-0 scoreline. 20-year-old Messi scored a beautiful lob to seal his country’s spot in the final.

Uruguay striker Luis Suarez announced his international retirement on Monday, ending a 17-year career with his national team as their top scorer with 69 goals.

The 37-year-old, who has 142 caps for his country, made his international debut in 2007 and was key in the squad that reached the semi-finals of the 2010 World Cup and won the Copa America a year later.

"Friday will be my last match with my country's national team," an emotional Suarez told a press conference.

Uruguay striker Darwin Nunez has been banned for five international matches while several other players were also suspended for their involvement in clashes with fans following Uruguay's Copa America loss to Colombia in July, South American soccer's governing body said on Wednesday.

Rodrigo Bentancur was banned for four games, while Ronald Araujo, Jose Maria Gimenez, and Mathias Olivera each received three-game suspensions.

South American football was in mourning on Tuesday following the death of Uruguayan defender Juan Izquierdo, who collapsed on the pitch after suffering an irregular heartbeat during a Copa Libertadores game last week.

The 27-year-old had been undergoing medical treatment since collapsing during Nacional's game against Brazilian side Sao Paulo on Aug. 22.

SAO PAULO — Nacional defender Juan Izquierdo collapsed on the pitch and was taken to hospital after suffering an irregular heartbeat during the second leg of a Copa Libertadores round of 16 tie against Sao Paulo at Brazil's Morumbi stadium on Thursday.

Izquierdo had replaced Sebastian Coates for the Uruguayan club at halftime but fell to the ground unconscious in the 84th minute without any contact from another player.