MADRID, 17 Nov. (EUROPA PRESS) –
Argentina’s national team qualified for next year’s World Cup in Qatar despite not going beyond the goalless draw against Brazil on the fourteenth day of the South American Qualifiers, while Ecuador closely sees a ticket that has been complicated for Uruguay .
The albiceleste could not take the duel against the ‘canarinha’, already classified for the World Cup, but was favored by the defeat of Chile at home against Ecuador (0-2) to certify their presence in the great football event world.
Argentino proved once again to be well armed by Lionel Scaloni, who extended his undefeated streak to 27 games, but, despite Leo Messi’s return to eleven, he could not with a Brazil that, somewhat weighed down by the loss of Neymar and With the presence of Real Madrid player Vinicius Jr as the starter alongside Atlético Mattheus Cunha striker, he preferred to wait longer for his rival.
The duel of the San Juan Bicentennial Stadium, which had tense moments such as Otamendi’s elbow to Raphinha that neither the referee nor the VAR decided to sanction, was balanced and although the two-time world champion, who in the previous one had a memory for the ‘Kun ‘Agüero, almost always led the initiative, the chances were not too many and they were almost clearer for Tite’s.
Two of them were at Vinicius’ feet. The Real Madrid winger, who left a spectacular ‘lambretta’ on Molina, was not as accurate in his hand-in-hand against Emiliano Martínez as he was with the Madrid team and his chopped ball was deflected, while in the second half he shot too focused in another good option.
A ball that hit Fred’s crossbar was the other best chance for Brazil, while the mattress Rodrigo de Paul ran into a good hand from Alisson, and Messi, lacking rhythm due to his latest physical problems, also did not find the angles in a shot that was stopped without problems by the Liverpool goalkeeper.
After the two qualified teams, Ecuador had good qualification options with four games to go, as they took a direct match against Chile 0-2. The Villarreal player Pervis Estupiñán opened the scoring at the beginning of the game and Caicedo closed it at the end to leave the ‘Tri’ with 23 points, seven more than the ‘Roja’, who remains sixth and even out of the play-off.
That position is now for Peru, which did not fail in its visit to the bottom Venezuela, which it defeated by 1-2 to get 17 points, the same as the fourth, Colombia, which added its fifth game without winning or scoring in the goalless draw against a Paraguay that hangs somewhat with 13 points.
Worse is the outlook for the two-time world champion Uruguay, which is seventh with 16 points after conceding its fourth consecutive defeat when they were beaten 3-0 in their visit to Bolivia. The Bolivian team, who also missed a penalty, is placed with 15 points and still dreams of the World Cup.