MONTEVIDEO: Lionel Messi made sure he had good memories of playing a home World Cup qualifier with Argentina\u2019s national team for the last time in his illustrious career on Thursday, while Paraguay and Colombia secured berths at the 2026 tournament in North America.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Eight-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner Messi scored twice Thursday in Argentina\u2019s 3-0 victory over Venezuela in front of a raucous sellout crowd that had gathered at Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires to bid him farewell.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cBeing able to finish this way here is what I\u2019ve always dreamed of,\u201d an emotional Messi said. \u201cFor many years I had the affection of Barcelona fans and my dream was to have it here in my country too. I\u2019ve experienced a lot of things on this pitch, both good and not so good, but it\u2019s always a joy to play in Argentina, in front of our fans.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Messi is yet to give any clues about when he will retire from the top level of the sport. But the qualifiers for the 2030 World Cup will begin in 2027, when he\u2019s 40.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The reigning World Cup champions, who have already qualified for the tournament in Canada, Mexico and the US, controlled proceedings from the opening whistle, creating chances through Nicolas Tagliafico and Franco Mastantuono only to be thwarted by Venezuela goalkeeper Rafael Romo.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Messi broke the deadlock in the 39th minute, the Argentine captain underlining his enduring quality in front of an adoring crowd of 80,000 by latching onto a pass from Julian Alvarez on a swift counter-attack and firing home into the top-right corner of Romo\u2019s net.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Argentina maintained their relentless pressure in the second half, with Messi remaining the focal point of their attack, but the hosts had to wait until the 76th minute for a second goal, Nico Gonzalez delivering from the left for Lautaro Martinez to score with a diving header.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Four minutes later, Messi capped off another excellent performance with a third goal, assisted by Thiago Almada.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Messi now has 36 goals in South American World Cup qualifiers and remains as the all-time scoring leader. His Inter Miami team-mate Luis Suarez has 29 goals in continental qualifying, but he has retired from Uruguay\u2019s national team. Bolivia\u2019s Marcelo Moreno Martins is third with 22.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Looking ahead, Messi clarified that he will only compete in next year\u2019s World Cup if he feels physically fit,<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cI\u2019m excited, eager. It\u2019s day by day, feeling the sensations. If I feel good, I enjoy it; if not, I\u2019d rather not be there,\u201d he said, adding that the nine months until the tournament kicks off \u201cis a long time.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Asked about his possible retirement, Messi who has scored a record 36 goals in South American qualifying, said: \u201cIt\u2019s not something I like, want or expect. But time is passing, and it\u2019s been many years.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Already qualified, Lionel Scaloni\u2019s side extended their tally to 38 points and will remain atop the South American qualifying standings regardless of what happens in the last round next Tuesday. Scaloni will rest his skipper for the dead-rubber at Ecuador.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cHe made an enormous effort and deserves a rest and to be with his family,\u201d said the coach. \u201cHe ended up very tired and physically exhausted. He should have come off, but he didn\u2019t because of the emotional nature of the match.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Messi had his three sons with him before kickoff and his father, Jorge, was also in attendance to mark the occasion.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Venezuela, trying to qualify for their first World Cup, remain on 18 points and in seventh place. They will host Colombia aiming to stay in the intercontinental playoff spot, with Bolivia just a point behind.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In other matches on Thursday, Brazil moved up to second place with 28 points after a 3-0 win over Chile at the Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chelsea teenager Estevao opened the scoring with an overhead kick from close range, before a probing run and cross from Luiz Henrique set up Lucas Paqueta to head in from point-blank range.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Bruno Guimaraes sealed the result with a simple tap-in after Henrique\u2019s shot rebounded off the underside of the crossbar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\u201cWe played intense football, with good rhythm, a solid defense and a lot of pressure,\u201d Brazil manager Carlo Ancelotti said. \u201cI think that, like us, the fans are very happy with the team\u2019s performance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n
BIELSA DOES IT AGAIN<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n Uruguay sealed their berth in the United States, Canada and Mexico by beating Peru 3-0 at home and moving to third on 27 points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In front of 60,000 at a packed-out Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Rodrigo Aguirre put Marcelo Bielsa\u2019s Uruguay on their way on 14 minutes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Club America forward leapt highest to place a thumping header into the top corner past Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Uruguayans, winners of the World Cup in 1930 and 1950, had needed just a point to qualify and send their charismatic veteran coach Bielsa to the tournament once again. The 70-year-old has now taken a third team to World Cup qualification.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Bielsa\u2019s appointment as Uruguay coach in 2023 was greeted with excitement, even euphoria, but an underwhelming qualification campaign has dampened that enthusiasm.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Qualification was always likely in a system that sees six of the 10 CONMEBOL sides qualify automatically for 2026, with one more heading into an inter-continental play-off.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Giorgian de Arrascaeta doubled Uruguay\u2019s lead just before the hour, lashing home from close range to ensure a party atmosphere in the Uruguayan capital. Federico Vinas scored a third 10 minutes from time.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe have players who are gradually improving … and who were able to live up to the demands of a match we needed to win,\u201d Bielsa said, declining to predict whether his team could win football\u2019s ultimate prize. \u201cHope is not the same as predictions. Hope is what drives us. Predictions in football are very difficult to make.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Ecuador dropped to fourth on 26 points after a goalless draw against Paraguay, who secured their first World Cup appearance in 16 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Like Uruguay, Paraguay needed only a draw to qualify when they hosted Ecuador. They got the job done and will be at their ninth World Cup \u2014 but first since 2010.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cThe key was to win the players\u2019 support, trying to agree not just on an idea, but on the way we wanted people to see us,\u201d Paraguay manager Gustavo Alfaro told reporters. \u201cI never realised what was going to come next and I never realized the passion this country could show for something as beautiful as football.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Colombia also sealed their place in next summer\u2019s extravaganza thanks to a comfortable 3-0 victory over Bolivia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The 34-year-old former Real Madrid and Bayern Munich attacker James Rodriguez, the breakout star of the 2014 World Cup, pounced just after the half-hour mark.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Jhon Cordoba made sure there were no late scares with his goal in the 74th minute, before Juan Fernando Quintero made it three for \u201cLos Cafeteros\u201d, who sit fifth in the standings with 25 points.<\/p>\n\n\n\n \u201cWe would like to have done it sooner, but we\u2019re very happy to be going to the World Cup,\u201d Colombia manager Nestor Lorenzo said. \u201cThose waits are long and hard because they fill you with anxiety. We just wanted to give something back to the fans for the support they have shown us.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n Published in Dawn, September 6th, 2025<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" MONTEVIDEO: Lionel Messi made sure he had good memories of playing a home World Cup qualifier with Argentina\u2019s national team for the last time in his illustrious career on Thursday, while Paraguay and Colombia secured berths at the 2026 tournament in North America. Eight-time Ballon d\u2019Or winner Messi scored twice Thursday in Argentina\u2019s 3-0 victory […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":3556,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"initial","rop_publish_now_accounts":{"facebook_3859443944190656_828796993651875":""},"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-3555","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3555","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=3555"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3555\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3557,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3555\/revisions\/3557"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/3556"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=3555"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=3555"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/paksouch.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=3555"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}