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Peru 0–2 Argentina
Argentina beat hosts Peru 2-0 in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in Lima. Argentina captain Lionel Messi scored two goals in the first half. In this victory, Argentina also maintained the top spot in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers. Lionel Scaloni's team has 12 points in 4 matches. Among the top four teams in the points table, only Argentina have won all their matches so far.
Five days ago, Messi came on as a substitute in Argentina's 1-0 win over Paraguay. Today he was brought back into Argentina's XI as captain in place of Lautaro Martinez. The Argentinian forward decided the fate of the match by scoring two goals in 42 minutes. In the 32nd minute, Enzo Fernandez passed to Nico Gonzales on the left side of Peru's box. The Fiorentina winger crosses to Messi in the box. Messi put the ball in the net with a cold head shot of the left foot.
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With this goal, Messi overtook Uruguay star Luis Suarez to become the highest scorer in the history of South American World Cup qualifiers (30). Just 10 minutes later, the Inter Miami star increased his goal tally to 31. In the 42nd minute, Julian Alvarez took a shot at Enzo Fernandez's extended pass in the box. Messi got a chance to take a shot at the Argentine striker's dummy. He did not make a mistake to score in this journey.
Messi also now shares the record for the highest number of double goals in a match in the history of South American World Cup qualifiers. Chile's Alexis Sanchez and Bolivia's Joaquin Botero have scored double goals 5 times in the match. Messi is now fourth in the record for the most goals in World Cup qualifiers across all continents. Guatemala's Carlos Ruiz tops with 39 goals. Cristiano Ronaldo is second with 36 goals, Iran's Ali Dayi is third with 35 goals and Messi is fourth with 31 goals.
Messi could have had a hat-trick against Peru. His goal in the 57th minute was ruled out for offside by Video Assistant Referee (VAR) technology. Although not a hat-trick, Messi has scored a goal against Peru in World Cup qualifiers today. He has not scored against two teams in World Cup qualifiers — Peru and Brazil. After getting a goal against Peru today, the rest of Brazil is left.
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Peru did not play well at all. This time, Peru did not score any goals in their first 4 matches in the qualifiers, which is the first precedent in the history of South American qualifiers. Peru could not take a shot in the opponent's net for a total of 520 minutes in the qualifiers. And Argentina have not conceded a goal since the World Cup final on December 18. Lionel Scaloni's team kept their net intact for 710 minutes. With this, Argentina kept the net intact for 8 consecutive matches. The last time in 1998, the South American team did not concede a goal in 8 consecutive matches. The world record of not conceding a goal in 12 matches is Italy (1974).
355.425 SRY