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Argentina began qualifying for the 2022 World Cup in the same way that it ended qualifying for the 2018 World Cup, with a victory over Ecuador. Three years ago, Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick to lead the Albiceleste to the final in Russia and the Barcelona star made the difference again on Thursday night.
The hosts had a chance to take the lead at La Bombonera when Pervis Estupinan dropped Lucas Ocampos in the penalty area. Messi stepped forward to shoot the penalty and beat Alexander Domínguez for power in Ecuador’s goal. Messi and Ocampos were joined in the attack by Lautaro Martínez, with all three forwards working well in Lionel Scaloni’s system.
Lautaro and Ocampos combined shortly after the break, with the latter seeing his shot stopped by Domínguez. With Argentina failing to seize more opportunities to score, the visitors grew in the contest, although creating chances was a problem.
At the other end, Messi found himself pushing towards goal, only for Robert Arboleda to prevent him from getting into scoring position. Franco Armani’s clean sheet meant that Argentina was able to start their World Cup qualifying campaign on the right foot. It was a display of action from their captain, who fought, pressed, defended from the front, attacked and scored in victory.
Also on the opening night of the tie for the CONMEBOL World Cup, Uruguay beat Chile and it was an honor even between Paraguay and Peru. On Friday night, Brazil starts their campaign at home against Bolivia and Colombia faces Venezuela in Barranquilla.
Argentina’s next outing will see them travel to Bolivia on Tuesday, while matches against Paraguay and Peru are scheduled for November. Scaloni’s team is, as always, under immense pressure to qualify for the 2022 World Cup, and the tournament in Qatar is believed to be Messi’s last in an Argentina jersey.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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