Argentina, in the absence of its star Lionel Messi, defeated its guest Chile 3-0, in the match that was held at the “Monumental” stadium in the Argentine capital, Buenos Aires, in the seventh round of South American Qualifiers Qualified for the 2026 World Cup.
Messi (the best player in the world eight times) was absent from the world champions’ squad for the matches against Chile and then Colombia, five days later in Barranquilla, due to injury, which opened the door for the call-up of Roma striker Paulo Dybala.
Messi, 37, has been out of action since sustaining an injury in mid-July during the Copa America final against Colombia, where Argentina won 1-0 to claim the continental title for the second time in a row.
The Argentine national team also missed its other star, Angel Di Maria, who announced his retirement from international football after the continental title. He was honored before the start of the match, as he and his family watched his country’s victory from the stands.
Liverpool midfielder Alexis Mac Allister opened the scoring at the start of the second half, specifically in the 48th minute, before Atletico Madrid’s new signing, striker Julian Alvarez, added the second goal with a rocket shot from outside the penalty area (84th minute).
Substitute Dybala completed his country’s hat-trick, after a pass from another young substitute, Alejandro Garnacho, in the 90+1 minute.
Argentina national team is close to qualifying
And strengthened Argentina With this, it tops the standings with 18 points from 6 wins and one defeat, paving the way for booking its seat in the 2026 World Cup finals.
The first 6 teams qualify directly to the World Cup, while the team in seventh place will play in a play-off.
Bolivia achieves its second victory
At the “Estadio Municipal El Alto” stadium, at an altitude of more than 4 thousand meters above sea level, he achieved Bolivian national team Only his second win in the qualifiers, beating his guest Venezuela 4-0.
Bolivia’s four goals were scored by Ramiro Vaca (13th minute), Carmelo Algaranías (45+5th minute from a penalty kick), Miguel Terceros (46th minute) and Enzo Montero (89th minute).
Bolivia advanced to seventh place with 6 points, while Venezuela, which suffered its second loss, froze at 9 points in fourth place.
