Lionel Messi breaks Pele’s South American international goals record

Argentina’s Lionel Messi celebrates scoring his team´s third goal against Bolivia. Picture: Natacha Pisarenko/AP

Lionel Messi broke Pele’s record for most international goals by a South American footballer with a hat-trick in Argentina’s World Cup qualifier win over Bolivia on Thursday night.

Messi scored all his country’s goals in the 3-0 defeat of Bolivia in Buenos Aires, giving him 79 for Argentina and taking him past Pele’s haul for Brazil of 77.