From Mexico to Chile, many Latin American fans often unite at World Cups and other tournaments under the chant “Latin America, less Argentina,” a chant that makes it clear that, at least in football, the Latin American sentiment does not include the homeland of Diego Maradona and Lionel Messi. One of the exceptions is Peru, a country intertwined with Argentina by a historic fraternal relationship that also extends to the stadiums, such as the flag that the Peruvian delegation displayed in Buenos Aires in 1985, three years after the Falklands War: “For Peru, the Malvinas are always Argentine.”
The fraternity, of course, is pulverized when the ball starts rolling: Peru hasn’t beaten Argentina in 17 games. In that overwhelming superiority, even with an alternative team and without Lionel Messi or most of its usual starters, the Albiceleste beat Peru 2-0 this Saturday in Miami and finished giving it the last push to complete its elimination from the Copa América United States. Unidos 2024. Argentina, which was already qualified for the quarterfinals, secured first place in group A.
The goals were scored by Lautaro Martínez at 2 and 41 minutes of the second half. The Inter Italy striker, who had already scored against Canada and Chile, for now stands as the top scorer in the Copa América, with four goals. Even the difference in the result could have been greater if it had not been for Leandro Paredes to miss a penalty, also in the second half. So far in the 21st century, Peru has never beaten Argentina: its last victory was 2-1 in the Copa América, in Bolivia in 1997.
In search of defending the title won in the last edition of the Cup, that of Brazil 2021, Messi’s team won first place in Group A with an ideal score and without having conceded goals (9 units, +5 in goal difference ). Their next step will be the quarterfinals this Thursday in Houston against the second in zone B. The rival of the also current world champion will surely emerge from this Sunday’s duel between Ecuador (3 points, +1 in goal difference) and Mexico (3 points, 0), while Venezuela (6 points, +2) will have a draw against Jamaica (0, -3) to secure first place and avoid the Albiceleste.
Peru (1 points, -3) did not even fulfill its part, that of winning, to wait for the other match that also defined its chances, Canada 0 – Chile 0 that gave second place to the Americans. The soulless Peruvian passage through the United States, last in its group, confirms the collapse of the team after the departure of Ricardo Gareca, the coach who led the qualification for a World Cup, Russia 2018, after 36 years. Also last in the Conmebol classification for the 2026 World Cup, with only two points out of a possible 18, Peru did not emerge from obscurity in the United States.
Not only that. The Peruvian team, which in 2025 will celebrate half a century since it won its last continental title (in 1975), achieved a negative historical record: for the first time in its 34 participations, it finished its time in a Copa América without having scored a goal. The problem carries over from the previous cycle, that of Juan Reynoso, to the point that the Peruvian team also did not score in the first five matches of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers, a drought recently interrupted on the sixth date, the last to be played so far. But already under the direction of Jorge Fosatti, Peru also found no offensive solutions against Chile, Canada and Argentina.
If the United States Copa América without Messi loses almost as much as soccer without the ball, Argentina was a team with less charm and electricity than usual against Peru. The 2-0, yes, was deserved and could even have been greater. The Albiceleste is such a serious team that even with a team of substitutes – and with young people like Alejandro Garnacho or Valentín Carboni, 19 years old – they have more than enough against rivals without generational change like Peru. Paolo Guerrero and his 40 years are a symbol of that withered present.
In a match with little rhythm, perhaps due to the heat of Miami and a playing field that was far from ideal for soccer – as usually happens with American football stadiums, in this case the home of the Miami Dolphins – the current champion of América still secured possession of the ball from the beginning, to the point that they ended the night with an overwhelming possession of 74%. The always correct Pedro Gallese prevented the goal in the first half with two great saves, against Paredes and Giovani Lo Celso, but in the second half he could no longer prevent the double from Lautaro Martínez, a forward on a streak. With four goals of Argentina’s five in the Cup, the Italian Inter man claims the position that Julián Álvarez won for him in Qatar 2022.
Solid in defense – since 1989, when they had not conceded a goal in their first three games, as they have now – Argentina is a team that also gives a feeling of offensive power: sooner or later, with starters or substitutes, they will score a goal. Against Peru, their coach, Lionel Scaloni, was also not on the bench, having been suspended by Conmebol for having delayed his return to the field at halftime against Canada and Chile, but the presence of his assistant Walter Samuel did not prevent another victory, the third in a row.
Injured at the start of the previous match, against Chile, Messi also sat on the substitute bench against Peru, although it was known that he would not be able to take the field. It is clear that, for the good of Argentina and the relief of the tournament organization, the 10 will play again on Thursday in the quarterfinals, against Mexico or Ecuador—Venezuela less likely. The unknown is to what percentage he will be recovered from the discomfort he suffered in his right leg: it seems difficult for him to reach 100%. Even so, without its best piece, Argentina showed that it also wins without Messi. And especially if Peru is opposite, its favorite friend-victim of the 21st century.
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