Photo: Maximiliano Luna
Argentina, world champion in Qatar 2022, lost without mitigation this Thursday night by 2 to 0 against Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay, for the 5th. date of the South American Qualifiers, in a match played in La Bombonera.
Defender Ronald Araujo and forward Darwin Núñez scored the winning goals that ended the undefeated team led by Lionel Scaloni. Their previous defeat was 2-1 against Saudi Arabia, at the beginning of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
At the same time, Argentina left its first points on the road in the South American Qualifiers where it remains first with 12 units. Uruguay, which was coming off a resounding 2-0 victory against Brazil in Montevideo, was two points away (10).
The “charrúa” team took a huge victory from La Bombonera by dint of concentration and tenacity. He played it like a final, with gritted teeth and with an offensive vocation, he hurt when he had to and left the world champion empty-handed.
Photo: Osvaldo Fantón
Uruguay played an outstanding first half although it was not a surprise considering their performance in recent games and the philosophy of their coach.
With Manuel Ugarte as the axis, Uruguay dominated the midfield and closed the paths for Argentina, especially on the wings. Tagliafico and Nico González had practically no contact with the ball and only Nahuel Molina managed some projections. Furthermore, both MacAllister and Enzo Fernández found themselves outnumbered in the face of the “heavenly” tide that moved en masse.
Argentina was erratic under pressure from Uruguay. She looked for loopholes, but without clarity. And only Messi, without the help of Rodrigo De Paul, offered something different in strokes.
Uruguay had the first risky arrival in the first minutes. A bad start by Nicolás Otamendi led to Ronald Araujo hitting the ball for the fast Darwin Núñez. The Liverpool striker from England beat Otamendi in the race, but he scored crossed and deflected before the departure of Emiliano Martínez.
Photo: Osvaldo Fantón
In the first stage there were also some strong crossings between the footballers. The Rio de la Plata classic was intense and had a lot of friction under the somewhat passive gaze of the Colombian referee Wilmar Roldán.
While Núñez appeared to be a constant threat for Argentina, the world champion outlined an arrival with the forced attempt of Julián Álvarez.
SAt the close, Molina lost the ball to the insistent marking of Matías Viña, who launched the center for the unmarked arrival of Araujo. Uruguay’s goal, which cut 753 minutes of undefeated record for “Dibu” Martínez, silenced La Bombonera.
Photo: Maximiliano Luna
For the second half, Argentina gained meters in the opposite field, already with Lautaro Martínez in the attack and a delayed Julián Álvarez, in a game closer to its current situation in Manchester City. Likewise, MacAllister left the court and Enzo Fernández stood as number “5”.
Messi created the single most dangerous situation for the world champion with the execution of a free kick that hit the crossbar, under the watchful eye of Sergio Rochet.
The arrivals of Ángel Di María and Exequiel Palacios tried to provide solutions to a team that was colliding with the tenacity of “Charrúa”. To progress on the field, Di María or Messi had to resort to dribbling and it showed how complex the match was for the world champions.
At that point, nerves also took over the people who from time to time exclaimed warm songs of support in the spring Buenos Aires night and sometimes left a certain annoyance for a poorly made pass.
Photo: Maximiliano Luna
The finishing touch for Uruguay was provided by Núñez, in a solitary escape with Argentina played in attack after a loss by Messi. Otamendi, in his weakest match, lost speed again and the resistance of “Dibu” Martínez was weak for the 2-0 that generated the unbridled scream of a handful of Uruguayans. The Argentines responded quickly, in clear support for the world champion.
On the next date, Argentina will visit Brazil and Uruguay, which will not be able to count on Mathías Olivera due to his second yellow card, will be home against Bolivia.
2023-11-17 03:38:00
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