Once again, Leo Messi proved what a genius he is during the last international break.
Argentina were on the verge of missing out on the 2018 World Cup. They needed a result away at Ecuador to book their spot in Russia next summer.
And then Messi flipped the script.
Ecuador 1 – Leo Messi 3
The match started terribly for Argentina as Romario Ibarra scored in the first minute of the game.
But then Leo Messi came into his own, dragging Argentina to the World Cup virtually singlehandedly.
Goals on 12 and 20 ensured that Argentina had some breathing room going into the break.
The icing on the cake came from Messi with a glorious third goal, a chip over Ecuador goalkeeper Maximo Banguera.
This marked Leo Messi’s 44th career hat-trick. 39 for Barcelona, 5 for Argentina.
And, in a nice touch, the hat-trick goal was Messi’s 50th for Argentina since he was been wearing the iconic number 10 shirt.
Argentina used black magic
In the aftermath of the Ecuador game, it’s been confirmed that Argentina used black magic in Quito.
The Argentine FA employed a so-called sorcerer, or healer, for their final World Cup qualifier.
The sorcerer’s name is Brujo Manuel, and according to initial reports he was hired on the advise of former Man United midfielder Juan Sebastien Veron.
Brujo Manuel
After the Ecuador game, sorcerer Manuel explained what he did to help his national team. As reported in Clarin, Manuel said:
I did what I had to do, I gave Argentina a hand.
Manuel avoided the exact details of his black magic skills.
But the rumours are he interacted with all the Argentina shirts before the game, while he performed a spiritual walk in the stadium before kick off.
Veron: ‘It wasn’t me’
On Thursday, Ole have published quotes from Veron on Argentina’s use of black magic.
Veron has rebuffed claims that Argentina hired the sorcerer on his advice:
I did not recommend Manuel. I know him because he’s from La Plata, but I did not recommend him to anyone.
The plot thickens…
Will Argentina take the sorcerer with them to Russia too?
