What a day it was for Argentina. They qualified for the FIFA World Cup 26™ without kicking a ball. When they did, a few hours later, they destroyed their old enemies in a performance that shook South America. It was also a big night for Venezuela.
A Salomon Rondon penalty against Peru pinched them a first win in 10, which lifted them into the FIFA Play-Off Tournament position and five points off the automatic slots.
Elsewhere, Chile’s hopes hang by a thread following a goalless draw at home to Ecuador, Sergio Rochet’s reflexes earned Uruguay a point in Bolivia, and Colombia and Paraguay played out a pulsating 2-2 stalemate.
Argentina may have banked World Cup qualification before taking to turf, but that didn’t stop them coming out at a frenetic pace. Thiago Almada spun Marquinhos and slipped the ball into Julian Alvarez, who bundled his way between two opponents and poked it past Bento to break the deadlock.
Then Nahuel Molina’s low cross somehow got past three Brazilian bodies to gift Enzo Fernandez a back-post tap-in. The Seleção halved the deficit when Matheus Cunha burgled the ball off Christian Romero and arrowed it into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area.
The two-goal lead was nevertheless restored when Alexis Mac Allister got to Fernandez’s dink into the box before Bento and steered it home. Giuliano Simeone scored Argentina’s fourth goal – and his first at international level – with a masterful finish from a tight angle after Brazil’s backline was caught sleeping.
Raphinha hit the crossbar with a free-kick thereafter, but this wasn’t their night. It was emphatically Argentina’s, who delivered one of their most-dominant all-time performances in the fixture and remain unbeaten in it in six years.
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“The team did very well. Hopefully us players, and all the fans, cherish this match against our oldest rivals. We are already qualified, but there are still qualifiers to play. We always play the same way, no matter who we face. It’s all about the shirt we are wearing,” Rodrigo De Paul, Argentina player, said.
“It’s hard to talk about it post-match. It’s regrettable. A defeat that hurts a lot, in a derby like this and at their home. It’s tough. We started the game very badly, well below what we’re capable of. They are on a roll of confidence. They knew how to play intelligently. It’s not just the coach’s fault. It’s the players’ fault too. What we did here can’t happen again,” Marquinhos, Brazil player, said.
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Brazil conceded more than two first-half goals for only the second time in World Cup qualifying. The first also came against Argentina at the Monumental, with a Juan Riquelme wonder goal and a Hernan Crespo double sending the Albiceleste in 3-0 up at the interval.
Source: FIFA
