Argentina captain Lionel Messi admits the 3-0 drubbing they were handed by arch-rivals Brazil in their World Cup qualifying encounter was a big shock.

The Albicelestes were swept aside by a dominant Brazilian outfit, with goals coming from Philippe Coutinho, Neymar and Paulinho.

The result sees Argentina languish in sixth position in the latest standings, having collected just 16 points from a possible 33.

However, the five-time Ballon d'Or winner is confident that Argentina will still qualify for the 2018 showpiece.

"We didn't expect this result," he said. "They were really tough opponents, but we expected a little more from ourselves.

"I think that, until the first goal, it was very balanced, but after the second they killed the game off. At 1-0 we were fine, it was even, but we didn't know how to react [to that second goal].

"Now it's a lot more complicated. We have to think about Colombia knowing that we have to improve greatly. We can't afford to have one more match playing like we've been playing, because we won't get out of this situation in this way," he continued.

Edgardo Bauza's side are now winless in their last four consecutive qualifying fixtures, conceding stalemates against Venezuela and Peru respectively, before being condemned to defeats against Paraguay and Brazil.

"Within all negatives there's a positive," Messi added.

"Our destiny is still in our own hands. We can't drop more points, especially at home, where we know we have to improve a lot. But if we beat Colombia, our destiny stays in our own hands," he concluded.