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3:55
Argentina thrashes Vinotinto on the 17th qualifying round
This Friday the last match of date 17 of the South American Qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup was played between the Argentina and Venezuela teams at the La Bombonera stadium. It was a match where the locals prevailed with a score of 3-0.
Scaloni lined up Messi in the starting lineup and the albiceleste captain was decisive in the result and even scored the third goal. Di María was the other protagonist, as always, putting on a great performance, scoring a great goal and being one of the most unbalanced players on the field.
For his part, Pekerman came out with his heavy artillery to measure forces with the second in the table and already classified in one of the most emblematic stadiums in Maradona's country. The lead was led by Salomón Rondón and Josef Martínez, but neither could score on this occasion.
The match began with a wide dominance of the locals, but they did not generate clear scoring chances. Messi directed the initiatives of the 'Albiceleste', however, the first minutes did not seem very clear for those led by Scaloni.
About half an hour into the match, Lío took off a powerful mid-range shot that Wuilker Faríñez stopped without any problems. The next action was a cross from Nicolás Tagliafico that went close. Argentina lacked clarity in the face of the goal.
At minute 33 ', Joaquín Correa received a filtered pass from Messi that left him in a one-on-one with Faríñez, however, the Inter Milan striker could not open the scoring due to the good start of the Venezuelan goalkeeper.
But at minute 35, Nicolás González scored the first goal of the match. The action began with a recovery by Alexis Mac Allister and he passed it to Rodrigo De Paul who entered from the right. The Atlético de Madrid player was able to finish, but he preferred to give it to Nico who, arriving in the middle, only had to push it to the back of the net. 1-0 partial.
The 'Vinotinto' would react with a play at minute 39. Salomón Rondón receives a pass down the left wing and quickly sends a cross into the area that Josef Martínez manages to head, but without giving him enough direction. The ball goes wide, near the right post. With that marker they would go to rest.
Starting the second half there were chances for both teams. A foul near the area in favor of Argentina was charged by Messi. The Paris Saint-Germain player took the free kick, the ball hit the barrier and changed direction, the Venezuelan goalkeeper managed to stop without complications.
In the same way, Josef Martínez returns to head a ball that started from a center to the area, but the ball goes wide. From that moment on, the game became a power struggle, both teams trying to dominate the game from midfield.
At minute 63, Nahuel Molina on behalf of the locals, gaining in speed, reached the bottom line and took a back pass where Mac Allister hit him missing the goal. Scaloni moved the bench and Ángel Di María entered, who would be decisive in the final minutes of the game.
At 89', De Paul leaked a pass for Di María to gain speed, but the Venezuelan goalkeeper came out to no avail and the PSG player, dribbling past the goalkeeper and two burgundy defenders, finished off from the edge of the area, taking out a 'Vaseline' which became the second goal. Great goal from the Argentine! This gave him a good advantage for the home side.
However, three minutes later the last goal of the match would come. Di María himself would receive a ball on the right flank and dragging the mark, he cut inwards and leaving only Messi, he passed it to him and the captain defined badly, but despite the shot he managed to convert the final 3-0.
With this result, Argentina consolidates itself in second place with 38 points, four behind Brazil, which is the leader. For its part, Venezuela is at the bottom of the table with only 10 units.
Next Tuesday, March 29, the last date of the South American qualifiers will take place and on that occasion Argentina will visit Ecuador, which is also classified, while La Vinotinto receives Colombia in a duel that the 'coffee growers' need to win and bet on Peru losing or tie, in order to achieve the playoff position.
