The Brazil-Argentina rivalry is the biggest in international soccer, and Messi made this game his playground in 2012. The 24-year-old was on a tear this year, and this hat trick is probably the best he's ever scored. And yes, I know he scored hattricks against Real Madrid twice and five goals against Bayer Leverkusen. But remember, the focus here is the raw quality of the goals.
For the first, he broke through on a pass and finished a 1 v 1 chance. Three minutes later, he had a similar opportunity and went around the goalkeeper. And to cap it, with the game tied 3-3 in the 85th minute, Messi picked the ball up at the halfway line, beat Marcelo one on one, drove down the field, and banged the ball into the upper 90 from 20 yards out.