No Messi, no problem

AP:

ARGENTINA DIDN’T miss Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martínez, and other key players on Friday, and beat Uruguay away 1-0 in convincing fashion in their South American World Cup qualifying match.

Thiago Almada scored the winner with a powerful curled shot from the edge of the box, putting the defending champions one point away from a spot in the tournament next year.

Argentina lead the round-robin competition with 28 points after 13 matches, and could secure their place with a home draw with Brazil on Tuesday. The charges of coach Lionel Scaloni are already 15 points ahead of seventh-place Bolivia, with only five rounds to the end of the competition.

The last time the two football powerhouses clashed, Argentina won 1-0 at the Maracana Stadium in Rio de Janeiro.

Earlier, Ecuador defeated Venezuela 2-1 and moved into second place in South American World Cup qualifying, edging close to reaching the tournament once again.

Brazil are third with 21 points, one ahead of Uruguay and Paraguay. Colombia, with 19 points, has the sixth position.

The top six teams will secure direct berths to the tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada. The seventh-place team among the 10 of the region will still have a chance to qualify through an international play-off.

Argentina had to accommodate key absences beyond Messi. Lautaro Martínez, Lisandro Martínez, and Rodrigo De Paul did not play in Montevideo. So coach Lionel Scaloni gave a place to Giuliano Simeone in the starting line-up, with Julián Álvarez and Thiago Almada up front.

Uruguay, playing in a full Centenario Stadium against their archrivals, took the initiative and had the clearest chances in the first half. But Argentina managed to hold their ground and started getting the better opportunities after half-time.

Almada’s goal in the 68th minute, after Argentina had wasted several other opportunities in front of goalkeeper Sergio Rochet, still didn’t push Uruguay forward, as Marcelo Bielsa’s team finished the match with only four shots on goal.