Argentina arrived in danger of missing a World Cup for the first time since 1970. They had slipped to sixth, outside the qualifying places, after three straight draws, and had scored only 16 goals in 17 matches.
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Jorge Sampaoli was their third coach of the campaign, having replaced Edgardo Bauza after a 2-0 defeat to Bolivia in March. They had also not won in Quito since 2001.
The night began in the worst possible way. Ecuador’s Romario Ibarra scored after just 38 seconds, the fastest goal Argentina had ever conceded in World Cup qualifying.
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Messi answered in the 12th minute, winning the ball off an opponent on the edge of the box and rifling a shot into the roof of the net. He put Argentina ahead eight minutes later with a strike into the top corner, and completed his hat-trick just after the hour with a chip over goalkeeper Máximo Banguera.
The win lifted Argentina from sixth to third, on 28 points, and into Russia directly, while Chile went out. Messi scored more goals than any other player in South American qualifying history, and Sampaoli said afterwards that football owed Messi a World Cup.
Nine years on, Messi played his final game for Argentina on Tuesday, signing off with his 126th goal.
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Photo: Paul Rovere/Getty Images
