LIONEL MESSI opened the scoring as Argentina thumped neighbor Uruguay 3-0 in an entertaining World Cup qualifier Sunday.

Goals from Rodrigo De Paul and Lautaro Martinez rounded off a successful night for Lionel Scaloni’s team in Buenos Aires as they maintained their unbeaten start to the qualification campaign and closed the gap at the top of the South American table to six points behind Brazil, which drew 0-0 with Colombia.

“We played a great match, I think we’re improving a lot,” said Messi. “It was a tough match and we had to win it.

“Uruguay sits back and is dangerous. Once we scored the first goal we started to find spaces and many appeared.”

The first half was a classic end-to-end thriller with both sides hitting the woodwork before Argentina opened the scoring.

Uruguay’s Luis Suarez looked lively early on and had three gilt-edged chances, all from the corner of the six-meter box.

Two, including an acrobatic volley, were parried by goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, while his third effort came back off the near post.

For Argentina, Giovani Lo Celso skewed wide from 10 meters and Lautaro Martinez was narrowly unable to direct De Paul’s cross on target.

Lo Celso then broke from deep and rounded goalkeeper Fernando Muslera, but his shot crashed down off the bar onto the goalline before bouncing away to safety.

Messi had a low shot deflected inches past the post and then broke the deadlock in bizarre fashion.

His chip into the box with the outside of his left boot was missed by Nicolas Gonzalez, whose presence seemed to deceive Muslera, the goalkeeper also missing the ball as it nestled in the bottom corner.(SD-Agencies)