There was almost no time to celebrate. Twenty minutes after the Albiceleste’s victory over Brazil at the Maracana, with smiles on the faces of the Argentines, Lionel Scaloni dropped a bomb: he is thinking about leaving. Literally: “I have to think a lot about what I’m going to do. It’s not a goodbye or much, but I have to think about it, because the bar is very high and it’s hard to keep winning and these guys make it difficult. “It is time to think about this time, later I will tell the president and the players because this national team needs a coach who has all possible energy and who is good.”

Very understandable, but this is something that is said at the end of the tournament, not at the beginning and when the contract has just been renewed for four years. It doesn’t close. The rumor that flooded the halls says that AFA president Claudio Tapia, close to the Government, asked Scaloni for public support for official candidate Sergio Massa, even a photo with him, which Scaloni not only refused, but was very unhappy with Tapia. It is the same argument that Bielsa presented to Julio Grondona to resign as a coach. Bielsa said he did not have the energy to continue. In reality, he couldn’t stand Grondona anymore.

Scaloni is an illumination, a discovery, a gem the size of the number five found among the ruins of a villa. There is no other Scaloni and Tapia knows it, which is why he will try in every possible way to convince him to continue. It’s his breakthrough, his stellar success, his presentation credential. It is not known whether he will succeed in this. However, if the departure of the coach who made Argentina the best in its entire history is confirmed, the unforgettable era in which he won everything with brilliant football would come to an abrupt end. And Tapia, politically, would become a role in the wind. It was the outgoing news about the sixth qualifying term.

Unanimity. The one that attracts Catalan Félix Sánchez: nobody likes how he makes Ecuador play. Twitter is a cry in that sense. “Ecuador doesn’t play anything”, “All their matches are boring”, “Individuals save us”, “There is no tactical approach”, “There is no direction”, “It seems as if the players know each other since yesterday”, “There is no strategy.” “I have no idea about the game, choose the players badly, every hour everything will fall from the weight, these results are liars.” “A significant number of footballers we have were not used.” And Ecuador won and had 8 points (they won 11 on the field, although 3 were taken away as a penalty for cheating Byron Castillo). This reflects that “I prefer to play badly and win” is not so literal. The fan also cares about how. Today it is enough to know only the result of Ecuador. It is not important to watch the match, it does not add anything.

No. The minimal victory came with a goal by Ángel Mena, a player who always appeared in the national team, who was ignored by Gustavo Alfaro at the World Cup in Qatar, not giving him a single minute on the field. This is Alfaro’s eternal problem: he knows which way the wind is blowing. He was a federalist.

Historical. Another victory for Argentina over Brazil at the Maracana. He recovered from an ugly slump against Uruguay in La Bombonera and reasserted his character. The one that was seen in Otamendi’s extraordinary goal. Close to the 36-year-old, the central defender jumped to look for a direct cross from the corner, which is more difficult than with the ball in motion, he took at least 60 centimeters from Gabriel Magalhaes and André and scored Passarellian with his head, a projectile that went into the high corner, very far from the position goalkeeper Alisson. “In no game does temper show more than in a header,” said Antonio Rattin, Boca’s old leader. Truth. Then Argentina defended with order and fervor. Brazil didn’t bother him. Argentina took the lead in history: 40 wins to 39.

Write down. The 0-1 result marks Brazil’s third straight defeat in qualifying, which has never happened before. And it is also their first defeat at home in this competition since 1954. That is no longer surprising. There isn’t a single star in a team that used to be full of geniuses. The line-up presented by Fernando Diniz included an army of ordinary players, who do not make a difference: full-backs Emerson and Carlos Augusto (very bad), midfielders André, Bruno Guimaraes, Nino, Raphael Veiga, Douglas Luiz, Joelinton and some poster but bad performance, like Raphinha. That after six qualifying matches played, Venezuela is fourth and Brazil is sixth, seems like something from a postmodern movie, but it is the current reality. And it shows how football’s tectonic plates have shifted.

Revelation. They rarely had Néstor Lorenzo as a coach. He had a short experience at FC Melgar in Peru. There, Colombia went to look for the man who completely changed the face and mood of Colombia. Lorenzo was a combative, strong defender. As a coach, he is the opposite: he likes well-played football, flat, in contact, with an attacking mentality. He optimized all the players, he recovered James Rodríguez, he is doing a moderate renovation, because ten young talents are not knocking on his door either. The keys to this Colombian third place with 12 out of 18 points: a) they play well forward, in the opponent’s field, b) they have a lot of possession and circulation of the ball to wear down the opponent, c) they apply high pressure, a few meters from the opponent’s area, d) they come to the goal through elaboration, through collective functioning, and not through individual arrests. Colombia still doesn’t have a goal scorer, but they are replacing him with a team composition. Someone comes and puts it in. Note that Lorenzo does not have a golden generation, he has good players who have been used magnificently.

Principle. Lorenzo’s first fundamental change was in central midfield: he removed Wilmar Barrios, a stopper, a recovery man with great brand intuition, and replaced him with Kevin Castaño, who is the team’s clear outlet, an excellent distributor with a pass to the leg. And forward. The team flourished. Even Jefferson Lerma, who was a war tank, dares to play alongside Kevin.

Disturbing. We have analyzed the qualifiers since 1973. We have never seen Paraguay so soft, so kind, so gentle with their opponent, especially when they play for their Defensores del Chaco. They are missing Julio Enciso and Micky Almirón, two key players in the attack, but they played a sorry game against Colombia. Where are those brave Guaraníes…? He has a goal in six outings on the field. A great candidate for one of the three spots in Hell, eight through ten.

Bullfighter. It was difficult for Darwin Núñez, having to fight for a place in Uruguay’s attack with Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani. He chased them both away. He is in a stellar moment, in Liverpool and in Uruguay. He is the top scorer of the qualification with five goals. And some are missing, he has to make better use of the opportunities that are presented to him, but that is one of the aspects that attackers sharpen over time. You learn to define. Bielsa’s style, pure attack, works in his favor. The fan doesn’t even talk about Cavani anymore, he still talks a little about Suárez, although more out of gratitude than out of necessity.