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Argentina vs Venezuela Qualifier Match: 2022 FIFA World Cup-winning captain Lionel Messi continued his stellar form as he scored a brace to help Argentina beat Venezuela 3-0 on Thursday in the home World Cup qualifier. Messi kept his 'cards close to his chest' on retirement but stated that the match against Venezuela is indeed his last World Cup qualifier at home.

Argentina, who are also defending champions in the upcoming WC, have already qualified for next year's tournament scheduled to be held in North America.

Messi drew first blood in the 39th minute as he deflected a pass from teammate Julian Alvarez on a swift counter-attack and firing one straight into the net.

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Argentina, being the superior side in the contest, maintained possession in the second half as well with Lautaro Martinez scoring a diving header in the 76th minute.

Four minutes later, Messi capped off another excellent performance with a third goal, assisted by Thiago Almada.

Messi himself had already acknowledged the significance of the fixture in the days leading up to the match. "It's going to be a very special game for me because it's the last one in the qualifying round. I don't know if there will be friendlies or more games after that," he said in a postgame interview with Apple TV.

Speaking again about the occasion, Messi said: "It's going to be a very, very special match for me because it's the last qualifying match. I don't know if there will be friendlies or more matches after [Venezuela], but it is a very special match, so my family will be there with me: my wife, my children, my parents, my siblings. We're going to live it like that. I don't know what will happen next."

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He walked out with his children before kick-off and later embraced them again at the final whistle.

Inputs from Agencies