East Rutherford (AFP)
Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said that his country, the world champion, showed its steel and deadly instinct by defeating Chile 1-0 in the second round of the first group competitions of the Copa America football competition, and reserved its place in the quarter-finals.
The defending champion of the continental title waited until the 88th minute, to translate its remarkable superiority over Chile into the winning goal through substitute Italian Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez in front of 82,000 spectators, the majority of whom were Argentina supporters, at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey.
Argentina strengthened its lead in the group with six points, while Chile, champions in 2015 and 2016, stagnated at one point in third place, sharing with Peru, and now needs to beat second-placed Canada by “3 points” on Saturday to continue its journey in the tournament.
Argentina is seeking its third major title in a row, after winning the Copa America in 2021 and the World Cup the following year.
Chile stood strong and courageously against Argentina, which never lost its confidence, as it presented another show full of determination, in harmony with taste and imagination, which delighted its fans.
Scaloni said: “It was a well-deserved victory, and the truth is that the match was not easy, and we won at the least expected moment,” explaining, “But as is always the case, the team continued to believe, and continued to attack, even though it began to relax a little more.” “In the last 10 or 12 minutes.”
Scaloni praised the work of his compatriot Ricardo Gareca, who took over as coach of Chile last January, and described him as a very difficult competitor.
Argentina’s midfield, led by Enso Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister, and wingers Rodrigo De Paul and Nicolas Gonzalez, had the upper hand for most of the match.
Liverpool’s English midfielder Mac Allister said, if they had to translate this dominance, “It was very difficult. We knew that it would be like this. In general, these matches are like war, there is like a fight between the two teams. It was a beautiful show. We put on a We all gave it 100 percent, and in the end we performed well, and we ended up winning.
For his part, Gareca said that he is confident that his team will achieve the result it needs in the final round.
He added, “I think we have a chance. Our chances still exist in the last match, and we will do everything in our power to have a chance to qualify.”
“It was a difficult and complicated match, as you would expect,” the 66-year-old coach continued. “I think the players played a great match, more than anything else, trying to control Argentina.”
He added: “In the second half we became more flexible, and the goal had to do with luck, because as you can see, the ball deflected off the back of an Argentine player, and in general, Argentina had more chances than us in the end.”
#Scaloni #Argentina #showed #steel #deadly #instinct