Rio De Janeiro, Sept. 5 -- Colombia, Paraguay and Uruguay have secured places at next year's FIFA World Cup while Lionel Messi bid an emotional goodbye to Argentine fans on the penultimate day of South American qualifiers.
Messi scored twice as Argentina beat Venezuela 3-0 in what was likely the 38-year-old's final home World Cup qualifier and the main event of Thursday's full round of fixtures.
The Albiceleste captain fought back tears during the warmup as fans chanted his name, then gavethe reigning world champion the lead by lifting a shot over goalkeeper Rafael Romo.
Substitute Lautaro Martinez made it 2-0 with a diving header from Nico Gonzalez's cut-back,before Messi combined with Thiago Almada to side-foot home the third.
Messi a...