Wednesday 17th November 2021
World Cup qualification succeeds against Brazil
Argentina celebrate with Messi over Qatar
Lionel Messi is back. Not only on the pitch, where he is cheered by the fans in the Estadio del Bicentenario, but also at the World Cup. The draw with Brazil is enough for the Argentines to successfully complete the Eliminatorias. The guest competes without a superstar.
Argentina and Brazil separated in the South American giants duel in qualifying for the World Cup in Qatar 2022 with a goalless draw. In a very intense game at the Estadio del Bicentenario in San Juan, both teams had too few chances to score.
This did not detract from the atmosphere: The Argentine national team and above all Lionel Messi put the Argentine fans in the province into a fever. In the past few days they had queued for hours to get a ticket; Now they were all the more delighted to see Messi, who played after a knee injury, live in action.
Repeat after abandoning the game
But Neymar was absent due to muscle problems with the Brazilians, who had one of the best opportunities through Vinícius Jr. in a one-on-one against Argentine goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez. Fred hit the bar. The Argentine Nicolás Otamendi escaped the red card after an elbow blow against Raphinha and the decision by the video assistant.
In the South America qualification for the World Cup next winter, Brazil, which has already qualified, is leading (35 points) ahead of Argentina (29), and Ecuador is third. The fourth place, which still entitles to direct qualification, is fiercely fought between Colombia, Peru (17 each), Chile and Uruguay (16 each). Bolivia blew (15) to attack with a 3-0 win against Uruguay. The fifth placed participates in the intercontinental playoffs.
Argentina and Brazil each have one game fewer than the other teams, as their game in São Paulo was abandoned after a few minutes in early September. Officials of the Brazilian health authority Anvisa had wanted to get three Argentines playing for English clubs off the field because of alleged violations of the corona regulations.