Messi, playing in his final World Cup qualifying match in his native Argentina, scored two goals to fuel the defending World Cup champions to a 3-0 win over Venezuela on Thursday.
Lautaro Martinez added another goal, sparked by Messi, in the victory for Argentina, which has already qualified for the 2026 World Cup.
Messi has yet to declare whether he will play in the tournament co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
He will make that announcement another day, he acknowledged after the match.
On this day, Messi treated the match like his final opportunity to play in front of his most avid fans in his home country with no other friendlies or matches of consequence scheduled in Argentina before or after the World Cup.