Uruguay 0-1 Argentina
Argentina’s latest World Cup 2022 win over Uruguay just goes to show that they aren’t entirely dependent on their talisman Lionel Messi.
Messi’s PSG teammate Angel Di Maria scored the marginal goal within the first seven minutes of the match and that was enough to subdue Uruguay, who were wasteful in front of goal all evening.
La Albiceleste have improved their World Cup 2022 odds of qualifying for next year’s festivities in Qatar as they held on to a 1-0 victory yesterday at Montevideo, Uruguay.
With the win, Argentina stayed at second place in the CONMEBOL standings with 28 points and they remain unbeaten alongside Brazil, who also won in their game against Colombia with the identical scoreline.
It was a disappointing result for Uruguay as they’re stuck at sixth place and they’re in a logjam alongside fourth and fifth-placed Chile and Colombia.
Following last night’s results, all of them are level with 16 points apiece which makes the final matchday all the more crucial since only the top four teams earn direct berths to Qatar next year.
While this game didn’t feature a lot of goals than we expected here at SBOTOP, there’s still enough notable World Cup 2022 highlights for us to look into today.
Highlights of the game
Wary of Lionel Messi’s injury concerns brought about by the PSG management, Lionel Scaloni decided to tinker his lineup by putting Lautaro Martinez, Giovanni Lo Celso, Paulo Dybala, and Angel Di Maria as their main attackers.
Meanwhile, Uruguay are still missing their strike duo as Edinson Cavani remains sidelined with a tendon problem, which meant Luis Suarez having to shoulder the load.
Things would’ve been different for Uruguay if they scored the first goal of the game within the first five minutes after some woeful defending by Argentina.
After earning a corner kick, Argentina were caught sleeping when they failed to clear the ball after Uruguay’s long throw-in. However, Emiliano Martinez came up with a big save on Nahitan Nandez’s attempt.
La Celeste were left to rue that missed opportunity as in the seventh minute, Angel Di Maria had one moment of brilliance which was enough to settle the match.
Uruguayan left-back Joaquin Piquerez lost the ball to Paulo Dybala on the edge of the penalty area and Di Maria swooped in to launch a curling shot over goalkeeper Fernando Muslera.
Seven minutes later, Luis Suarez tried his luck by launching a long-range shot which drew a save from Emiliano Martinez and he had a similar chance one minute after the half-hour mark.
Emiliano Martinez was needed once more at the 42nd minute when Luis Suarez teed up Matias Vecino for a shot as Uruguay grew aggressive after conceding a goal earlier.
Oscar Tabarez’s men took control early in the second half but it simply wasn’t meant to be for them.
Joaquin Piquerez had a shot for Uruguay at the 50th minute while Luis Suarez was brought down inside the box at the 53rd minute, but to no avail as the referees didn’t call a penalty.
In the 74th minute, Argentina almost made it 2-0 when Joaquin Correa was left all alone in the penalty area but Rodrigo Bentancur prevented an attempt with a timely tackle.
Lionel Messi came on with 14 minutes left in the game. However, he didn’t have enough time to make considerable impact in this match.
Uruguay came close to another equaliser at the 89th minute when substitute Agustin Alvarez drove hard into the lane but Martinez was there to save the day once more.
Key statistics
Argentina extended their unbeaten run to 26 matches and counting. And Uruguay are still winless against Argentina in more than half a decade.
Uruguay had more chances as they’ve had 19 total shots with four of them on target while the visitors had only seven and three. However, Argentina controlled 65-per cent of the possession compared to Uruguay’s 35-per cent.
La Celeste’s drought in international competitions continues as they’ve yet to win a single game since their 1-0 victory over Ecuador in the World Cup qualifiers last September 9.
What’s next?
The final matchday of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers is going to be crucial particularly for Uruguay.
Uruguay are in dire need of a win against Bolivia on November 17 and they’ll hope that Chile and Colombia will lose their upcoming fixtures against Ecuador and Paraguay respectively.
Argentina, on the other hand, are slated for a huge showdown against Brazil in what will be a rematch of the Copa America final last July.
●●●
CHECK OUT OUR BLOG FOR MORE FOOTBALL STORIES & ODDS
Stay updated with everything sports and betting.
Follow us on social Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and YouTube.
