Argentina remains at the top of the qualifying round after beating Chile 3-0: these are the keys to Colombia’s next opponent

Argentina begins to prepare for the post-war era Lionel Messi, absent in this double date of the qualifiers due to injury, and also to play without Angel of Maria, who retired from the national team.

Without them, the champion of America and the world, Colombia’s next rival in the qualifying round, was patient and ended up winning by a landslide, 3-0, against Chile, at the Más Monumental stadium.

You have to go back 18 years, one month and 20 days to find an Argentina line-up without Leo and without ‘Fideo’: It was on June 30, 2006, when the team then managed by José Pékerman was eliminated in a penalty shoot-out against the home team, Germany, in that year’s World Cup.

Coach Lionel Scaloni showed a team against Chile with fewer fireworks, but with a collective work that makes it very solid: a line of three defenders, with Otamendi, Romero and Lisandro Martínez; two players who go back and forth on the wings, Nahuel Molina and Nico González.

In the middle, Rodrigo de Paul, Alexis Mac Allister and Nico González shared the space. Luis Díaz’s teammate at Liverpool moved everywhere and De Paul was key, going to the wing to join Molina and open up the play. González had to leave due to injury and Gio Lo Celso came in for him.

Up front, Scaloni, now without Messi and Di María, bet on the cards of Julián Álvarez and Lautaro Martínez, both eager to make themselves noticed and, the former, with a goal debt that he would end up paying off during the course of the game.

Argentina, from less to more until ending up winning

Argentina lacked spark in the first half and although they looked very organized, they struggled to get going. Instead, they managed to open the scoring very early in the second half, three minutes in, when a right-footed shot from Mac Alister beat goalkeeper Gabriel Arias to give them a well-deserved lead.

Then came Julián Álvarez’s revenge, in a play in which another of Argentina’s virtues was seen, the high pressure to prevent the ball from coming out from the back. Enzo Fernández recovered a ball and joined Lo Celso, who left the Atlético de Madrid striker with the option of shooting from the edge of the area and making it 2-0, in the 83rd minute.

Scaloni also showed that he has a good bench and two emerging players, Alejandro Garnacho and Paulo Dybala. (the latter temporarily inheriting Messi’s number 10) They set up the play for 3-0 in the first minute of added time: the Manchester United player went in from the left and then passed it back so that the attacker who was not in the Copa América could start to ask for a run.

The match is a warning for Colombia, in what will be the reunion with the Argentines after the Copa America final. There are other factors that will have to be analyzed, such as the weather and the time, which could change the way of playing a little, but the world champion showed that it is still strong, even without its star player.

Jose Orlando Ascencio

Sports Deputy Editor

@josasc

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