That expanded field means Argentina is already well on its way to a World Cup return, but the table is tightening as Brazil continue to recover after a slow start, while Colombia and Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay are dangerous but have had hiccups and Bolivia have won three in a row to thicken the plot in the race for the final spots.

Lionel Messi scored his 10th international hat trick to raise his career total to 112 goals and also had a pair of assists to lead Argentina over Bolivia 6-0 in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday.