Messi hits 50th Argentina goal, Brazil salvage draw

Lionel Messi scored his 50th international goal as Argentina notched their third straight victory in South America's 2018 World Cup qualifying tournament, while Brazil snatched a dramatic late draw against Paraguay on Tuesday.

Messi swept in an emphatic spot-kick to help Argentina to a 2-0 win over Bolivia, lifting the two-time world champions to third in the overall standings with 11 points from six matches, two points behind joint leaders Ecuador and Uruguay.

Ecuador suffered their first loss in the group, going down 3-1 in Colombia, while Uruguay scored a 1-0 home win over Peru.

Colombia are fifth in the table with 10 points from five games while Chile are fourth after a 4-1 win at Venezuela.

Brazil rallied for a 2-2 draw at Paraguay with late goals from Ricardo Oliveira and Dani Alves as they sit sixth, level with Paraguay on nine points.

The top four teams in the 10-nation group qualify for the 2018 World Cup finals, while the fifth-placed side goes into an intercontinental playoff.

At the Estadio Mario Kempes in Cordoba, Gabriel Mercado scored in the 19th minute and Barcelona star Messi made it 2-0 in the 29th on a penalty to lead the Argentines to an easy victory.

Messi's exploits make him only the second player in Argentine history to reach a half century of goals with the 28-year-old striker now closing in on legendary scorer Gabriel Batistuta's record of 56 goals, set between 1991 and 2002.

"Beating Bolivia and Chile is what we wanted," said Messi, referring to last week's hardfought win over the Chileans in Santiago. "We've come from a low position in the standings to a high one, but there is still a long way to go."

Messi's Barca team-mate Alves was the hero of Brazil's draw with Paraguay in Asuncion.