January 28, (THEWILL) – Argentina had already qualified for the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup, they endeavoured to keep their long-running unbeaten streak going in their 2-1 defeat of Chile.
At the Estadio Zorros Del Desierto en Calama, the visitors flexed their muscles without Lionel Messi to jeopardise the host country’s hopes of qualifying for the 2022 World Cup early on Friday.
Angel di Maria and Lautaro Martinez scored in the first half with a header from Chile’s Ben Brereton-Diaz to see La Albiceleste go undefeated in 27 matches.
The victory does not shake Argentina off their confirmed second place in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers but moves them 32 points from 14 games but Chile’s struggles to reach Qatar 2022 continue.
La Rosa, who suffered their second straight defeat at home, has 16 points from 15 matches and is seventh in the standings, three points behind fourth-placed Uruguay after the latter’s 1-0 win over Paraguay.
Paris Saint-Germain Di Maria substitute silenced supporters at Calama in the ninth minute with his signature left-foot strike from outside the penalty area, scoring his 23rd international goal.
Blackburn Rovers striker Brereton-Diaz equalised in the 20th minute when he beat Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano MartÃnez from Marcelino Nez’s diagonal cross.
Argentina regained their lead just as Chilean goalkeeper Claudio Bravo signalled to be substituted due to injury, and the veteran keeper could not hold off a long shot from Rodrigo De Paul, which allowed Martinez to find the net beyond the keeper in the 34th minute.
The guests withstood the belated pressure from Chile, and Brereton-DÃaz forced MartÃnez into a good save from a header in the 84th minute.
Argentina may have already secured their place for Qatar 2022, but the winners of the 2021 Copa America have made their mark with an unbeaten run of two years. The last time La Albiceleste lost was in July 2019 in the semifinals of the Copa América in Brazil.
Captain Messi was absent in Argentina’s last qualifier, but in his absence the two members of the squad with the most international goals delivered the goods.
This means that La Roja’s team led by Mario Lasarte will struggle to qualify for Qatar, despite being only one point behind fifth-placed Colombia in the play-off games. After a strong three-match winning streak at the end of last year, Chile will have a tough fight ahead and have now lost two games in a row.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
