Argentina won without Messi, while Brazil dropped points

Argentina's final squad
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Last night, Argentina and Brazil played in different matches in the World Cup Qualifiers. The five-time world champion Brazil dropped points against Ecuador. A few hours later, Argentina sealed a victory against Chile at Estadio Zorros del Desierto. However, Brazil remain at the top of the table despite losing the match. On the other side, the Albiceleste gets closer to the top after winning the game against Chile.

Argentina VS Chile

The Albiceleste traveled to the home ground of Chile to play the World Cup Qualifier. In this match, Argentina had several injuries in their squad. They have played without their captain, Lionel Messi. However, Messi tested positive for Covid-19 earlier. He has missed some matches for Paris Saint-Germain as well. Fortunately, he has recovered and trained with the team. However, the Argentine board decided to let him rest against Chile.

Moreover, defender Cristian Romero was also out of the squad due to injury. In addition, the Argentine manager Lionel Scaloni was out of the dugout due to the Covid-19 issue. Anyway, the interim manager gave the captain’s armband to Angel Di Maria in this match.

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The coach set up the team formation with 4-3-3. At the front, the coach played Lautaro Martinez and Di Maria alongside Nicholas Gonzalez. On the other side, the home team manager played his team in a 4-2-3-1 formation.

The visitors took the lead at the beginning of the match. Skipper Angel Di Maria netted the ball in the 9th minute with the help of Rodrigo De Paul. But the home team equalized in the 20th minute as striker Ben Diaz scored that goal. Conceding the goal, the Albiceleste became more aggressive to find the net. As a result, Argentina took the lead before half-time. In the 34th minute, Argentine forward Lautaro Martinez scored a brilliant goal. However, both teams couldn’t score more in the remaining minutes. As a result, Argentina won the match against Chile.

Brazil dropped points

The Latin American powerhouse, Brazil, dropped points against Ecuador. It was a very physical game between the two teams. Both teams fouled a lot in this match. Moreover, the match referee showed two red cards to both teams. In addition, the referee showed a red card to the Brazilian goalkeeper, Alisson Becker. But the referee overturned the decision after the VAR checking.

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However, Brazil took the lead first as midfielder Casemiro scored the goal in the 6th minute. But the home team equalized in the second half. Ecuador defender Felix Torres found the net in the 75th minute with the help of G. Plata. After that, Brazil couldn’t score in the remaining minutes. So, the match ended in a 1-1 draw.