The Atletico forward scored the lone goal on the evening in a scrappy match on the road for La Albiceleste
A brilliant first-half goal from Atletico Madrid forward Julian Alvarez was enough to see Argentina defeat Chile on the road 1-0 in CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifying Thursday evening.
La Albiceleste had an absolutely commanding first half that secured them the result, though the hosts were rampant in the closing stages of the match, nearly securing an equalizing goal on multiple occasions. With all three points, Argentina moved up to 34 points in the CONMEBOL table through 15 matches played in qualifying, furthering their lead atop second-place Ecuador by 10 points.
The winner from Alvarez arrived 16 minutes into the game after Thiago Almada made a blistering run into the final third of the pitch before feeding the Atletico striker on the counter, who lifted a cheeky shot over the goalkeeper and into the net. Lionel Messi came off the bench in the 57th minute of the match to help secure the result, though he had very little impact on the contest itself.
Goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez made two crucial saves in the second half, both of which impacted the final score, as the Aston Villa shotstopper proved to be reliable on the international stage once again.
Having already clinched a berth in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the result had little impact on the table for La Albiceleste, but for Chile, they’re now in dire territory as they try to push their way into next year’s tournament. They sit last in the table in 10th on just 10 points, five points back from seventh-place Venezuela in the playoff spot.
GOAL rates Argentina’s players from Estadio Nacional Julio Martinez Pradanos in Santiago, Chile…
