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Scored: Nicolas Gonzalez (17); Lautaro Martinez (28)
Due to the political tension between the two countries Peru and Argentina, the South American Football Federation had thought to postpone this battle. Although the final match still played out as originally scheduled, the Argentine players were warned about the hostility and enormous pressure that could appear in the stands of the stadium in Lima (capital of Peru).
Argentina’s performance in recent times has been quite good: 10 consecutive unbeaten matches in all competitions for 16 months. Meanwhile, Peru has not been able to win a match since September 2019. However, if only the achievements in the qualifiers for the World Cup in South America are counted, Peru is not an easy opponent to intimidate when it only loses 4/15 matches. classification. It is better to mention that Argentina is not on the list of the four teams that beat Peru.
Peru vs Argentina |
Compared to the Paraguay draw, Argentina has 2 adjustments in terms of personnel. Midfielder Exequiel Palacios (Leverkusen) was withdrawn due to injury and Tottenham player Lo Celso was selected. In addition, striker Ocampos (Sevilla) was pushed to the bench, so Rodrigo De Paul (Udinese) went on the attack in combination with Messi and Lautaro Martínez and Tagliafico appeared at the command of the right runner in 3-4-2-1.
Argentina departure list |
Unsurprisingly, Argentina entered a difficult game against Peru playing with power, ready to kick if necessary. Even at 9 minutes, Albiceleste was about to receive a penalty. For example, striker Cueva from Peru fell into the penalty area after a collision with goalkeeper Armani. However, the referee does not allow the host to enjoy the 11m, even after consulting the VAR team.
But without playing well, Argentina still took the lead in the 17th minute. Lo Celso escaped down the left wing, then passed inside for Nicolás González (Stuttgart) to control the ball before finishing off the crossed corner kick to defeat the local goalkeeper. . Thus, the Tottenham midfielder adds the second assists in two consecutive games for Argentina.
Nicolás González opened the scoring for Argentina |
Despite being run quite deeply, Peru has no way to turn the tables. The home team is very active putting the ball in Argentina’s restricted area, but this plan is not effective. Blurred in the front row, Lionel Messi had to retreat many times to return to the home field to support his teammates in defense.
At the end of the first half, Carrillo brandished his volley and half pushed the Argentine goal and the ball hit the goal a little. Then the local team called for 11m, but the slow motion indicated that the ball only hit Nicolás González’s shoulder, so of course with VAR technology, there was no penalty as Peru expected.
Lautaro Martínez scored the second for Argentina |
After the break, Peru played a little better, but not enough to think about scoring. In the 54th minute, on a free kick, local midfielder Santamaria shot correctly … the midfielder “broke” the ball outside the 5m50 area.
In the 62nd minute, for the first time in the match, Lionel Messi’s name deserved to be mentioned when he fell on his face after the interception by Santamaría (playing in Mexico), but the referee made a gesture with his hand to signal the 11m. .
In the 72nd minute, in a disorderly situation in the restricted area of the local team, Lautaro Martínez tried to install the Peruvian defender to reach Ángel Di María’s goal, but the left-handed shot was quite an “angel” stretch. The simple fact entering the field did not beat goalkeeper Gallese.
Lionel Messi plays less prominent in this match but the important thing has to win Argentina |
A few minutes later, Messi led the ball almost completely in the field of Peru, passing three opposing players before entering the 16m50 area and finally sank into the far corner. Unfortunately, the ball narrowly missed.
The rest of the time, Peru failed to win an honorable table while Argentina actively played slowly because the gap was safe. Many players do not want to waste their low energy due to the dense density of the game.
Therefore, Argentina’s 2-0 remained until the end of the match. So, although not too prominent, the “tango dancers” also obtained 10/12 absolute points after the first four games of the 2022 World Cup qualifier in South America, an achievement that they only lost to the icy “great rival”. Only Brazil.
TEAM
PERU XI (4-2-3-1): Pedro Gallese; Aldo Corzo (Advíncula 71 ‘), Anderson Santamaria, Luis Abram, Miguel Trauco; Pedro Aquino (Cartagena 88 ‘), Yoshimar Yotun (Calcaterra 88’); Andre Carrillo, Christian Cueva (Ruidíaz 81 ‘), Edison Flores (Polo 71’); Gianluca Lapadula.
ARGENTINA XI (3-4-2-1): Franco Armani; Nicolas Otamendi, Lucas Martinez, Gonzalo Montiel; Nicolas Tagliafico, Giovani Lo Celso, Leandro Paredes, Nicolas Gonzalez (Di Maria 71 ‘); Lionel Messi, Rodrigo De Paul (Ocampos 57 ‘); Lautaro Martinez (Alejandro Gómez 89 ‘)
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