For the 13th round of the South American Qualifiers, Argentina beat Uruguay 1-0 this Tuesday, at Estádio Campeón del Siglo, in Montevideo. Unlike usual, star Lionel Messi started the derby on the bench and entered the second half, but did little.
With the triumph guaranteed thanks to a great goal from Di María, the team led by Lionel Scaloni remains undefeated in the Qualifiers. Coach Óscar Tabárez’s team went to four games without a win and left the classification zone for the 2022 World Cup, in Qatar.
With the victory, Argentina reaches 28 points and remains in second place in the South American Qualifiers. The next appointment for Messi’s selection is the derby against Brazil, on Tuesday in San Juan.
Uruguay continues with 16 points and dropped to sixth place. Óscar Tabárez’s men return to the field on Tuesday to face Bolivia in La Paz.
Despite the result and the bad moment, Uruguay created good chances and could have opened the scoring. After some pressure in the opening minutes, the hosts demanded a good defense from goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez in a shot by Nández.
Argentina responded after six minutes with a great goal. After a mistake made by Piquerez, left-back for Palmeiras, Paulo Dybala stole the ball, advanced on the right and found Di María inside the area. Shirt 11 dominated and quickly hit the spot, hitting Muslera’s right angle in the only visitor submission in the first half.
The goal they conceded only left Uruguay with more need to go on the attack. Soon after, Luis Suárez took a long free-kick. Shortly after, the center forward hit the net from the outside in a cross kick from inside the area.
After the initial pressure, Uruguay returned to threaten and be better in the 30th minute. Suárez hit the post in a first shot from the edge of the area and even sent it out in an attempt on the left on the rebound. Emiliano Martínez was also required again, this time with Vecino’s low shot in the left corner.
In the second stage, Uruguay started betting on errors in the Argentine ball out. The idea worked, Piquerez had a great chance by stealing the ball after Di María’s hesitation, entering the area at speed and kicking hard, but outside.
Errors in the ball’s output meant that Argentina only came back in danger midway through the second half. After a quick counterattack, Joaquín Correa received from Lo Celso and invaded the area, but was stopped by Betancur in the moment of submitting. The striker also stopped in Muslera with a first shot after a low cross by Ángel Correa.
In the final stretch of the match, Uruguay returned to threaten, but again wasted great chances. Agustín Álvarez Martínez almost scored twice. In the first, he took paint off the crossbar with a header after a Piquerez cross. In the second one, Martínez almost failed, who recovered after the ball passed between his legs.
???? #Elimination ???????? Victoria Albiceleste! ????????
⚽ The national team defeated 1-0 #Uruguay ???????? thanks to the magic of Ángel Di María ????
???? The cast led by Lionel Scaloni will play next Tuesday against #Brazil ????????
???? #VamosArgentina ????#ScalonetaModoOn ???? pic.twitter.com/m31ROYppH1
– Argentina National Team ???????? (@Argentina) November 13, 2021
Ricardo is a renowned author and journalist, known for his exceptional writing on top-news stories. He currently works as a writer at the 247 News Agency, where he is known for his ability to deliver breaking news and insightful analysis on the most pressing issues of the day.
