Angel
Di
Maria
was
the
difference
away
to
rivals
Uruguay,
his
sublime
seventh-minute
strike
lifting
second-placed
Argentina
to
victory
on
Friday
(November
12).

Argentina
–
who
tied
their
CONMEBOL
World
Cup
qualifying
record
after
going
eight
matches
unbeaten
on
the
road
–
are
one
win
away
from
booking
their
spot
at
Qatar
2022
heading
into
Tuesday’s
showdown
against
Brazil.

Lionel
Scaloni’s
Argentina
defeated
Uruguay
3-0
during
last
month’s
international
window,
after
La
Celeste
failed
to
make
the
most
of
their
chances
against
the
Copa
America
champions.

It
was
a
similar
story
on
home
soil
in
Montevideo,
where
Uruguay
lacked
a
cutting
edge
in
front
of
goal,
despite
Luis
Suarez’s
best
efforts.

With
Lionel
Messi
on
the
bench,
Di
Maria
wore
the
captain’s
armband
and
Argentina’s
stand-in
skipper
broke
the
deadlock
in
the
seventh
minute.

Giovani
Lo
Celso
won
possession
and
laid
the
ball
to
Di
Maria,
who
curled
a
stunning
shot
into
the
top
corner
of
the
net.

Uruguay
continued
to
press
numbers
forward
and
they
had
a
chance
to
restore
parity
approaching
half-time
after
Matias
Vecino’s
brilliant
turn
created
space
for
a
shot,
however
it
was
easily
dealt
with
by
Emiliano
Martinez.

Martinez
was
left
scrambling
as
Facundo
Torres’ tricky
cross
almost
looped
over
the
Argentina
goalkeeper
before
he
palmed
it
behind
for
a
corner
in
the
63rd
minute.

As
Uruguay
pushed
forward
in
search
of
an
equaliser,
it
created
more
space
for
Argentina
to
attack
and
the
visitors
engineered
a
couple
of
decent
openings
before
Messi
was
introduced
off
the
bench
during
the
closing
stages.

With
the
minutes
ticking
down,
Agustin
Alvarez
headed
just
over
the
bar
for
Uruguay,
while
Martinez
almost
saw
the
ball
slip
through
his
legs
and
into
the
net
as
the
hosts’ World
Cup
hopes
remain
in
the
balance.

ICC T20 World Cup 2021 Predictions

Final – November 14 2021, 07-30 PM

New Zealand

Australia

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