Argentina is a big step closer to next year’s World Cup in Qatar with a minimal win over Uruguay. In the Uruguayan capital of Montevideo, the South American champions won 1-0, giving it an even tighter hold on second place in the South American World Cup qualifying group behind Brazil. The first four qualify directly, the number five still plays an international play-off. The Brazilians were the first to qualify for the World Cup final round on Thursday night with a 1-0 home win over Colombia.
Argentina, where Lionel Messi started on the bench, took the lead early in the game. Ángel Di Maria, in the absence of Messi wearing the captain’s armband, beautifully curled his left leg behind the Uruguayan goalkeeper Fernando Muslera after just six minutes.
In the future, the Argentines did have more possession of the ball, but Uruguay was actually the most dangerous with a number of flashy counters. Luis Suárez in particular had a few good opportunities to equalize, even in the final phase, but the Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez saved each time.
With the victory in Montevideo, Argentina continued an impressive run. The team of national coach Lionel Scaloni has been unbeaten for about two years, 26 games. His team is now second in the South American World Cup qualifying group with 28 points after twelve of the eighteen matches. Uruguay are in sixth place, with one more game played and 16 points, the same as Chile (now fourth) and Colombia (fifth), but with a worse goal difference. Ecuador is third with 20 points from thirteen matches.
There will be another round in South America on Tuesday. Argentina and Brazil meet in San Juan, Argentina. Chile hosts Ecuador, while Colombia meets Paraguay in its own Barranquilla. The Uruguay of Suárez plays the difficult away game against Bolivia, in the high altitude of La Paz, where the thin air is always an extra opponent.
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