OneFootball
Emily Wilson·18 October 2023
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Emily Wilson·18 October 2023
More FIFA World Cup Qualifiers took place on Tuesday with some CONMEBOL giants in action.
Here is what went down.
Scorer: Messi 32′, 42′
Argentina maintained their perfect record with a comfortable win over Peru thanks to the talents of their leading man.
It was the Lionel Messi show again, and the hosts could only sit back and watch as the captain dizzied defenders and even stunned his team-mates.
Two darting strikes within a 10-minute span were enough for Argentina to virtually put the game to bed. Messi broke a CONMEBOL record in the process for the most goals in World Cup Qualifying.
And he’ll be potentially upset not to have recorded a hat-trick after VAR took away his third for being offside.
Hosting the World Cup holders, this match would have been one of the hardest on paper for Peru to play. A fruitless attack recorded zero shots on target over 90 minutes.
With four wins from four Argentina sit first in the table with 12 points, five above Uruguay and Brazil. Peru sit second last with one, only above Bolivia.
Scorer: Núñez 39′, De La Cruz 77′
Despite numerous star talent on the pitch, multiple names were incredibly quiet throughout 90 minutes. But Darwin Núñez shone.
Only two shots found the target from a combined six efforts as Uruguay and Brazil struggled to conjure up attacking threats consistently. Yet when the opportunities arrived, the Liverpool ace made the most of them.
The opener arrived after Núñez evaded his marksman and patiently waited for a cutback into the box before sending a thumping header beyond Ederson.
Brazil later suffered a major loss as Neymar was stretchered off in tears with a serious knee injury, and nobody could step up in his absence to pull them back into the game.
While Rodrygo had a free-kick hit the crossbar, Núñez later somehow kept the ball from going out of play and poked it towards Nicolás de la Cruz, who put the tie to bed with ease.
The result means Marcelo Bielsa’s men leapfrogged Brazil in the standings after their first victory over them in 22 years.
Fernando Diniz’s men, meanwhile, see their impressive run ended after they suffered their first World Cup qualifying defeat in eight years.