Argentina cruise past Chile, Bolivia thrash Venezuela in World Cup qualifiers
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Argentina players celebrate their World Cup qualifying victory over Chile with a replica of the Copa America trophy.
PHOTO: AFP
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BUENOS AIRES – Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni was happy for a “deserved victory”, as Alexis Mac Allister, Julian Alvarez and Paulo Dybala scored in their 3-0 South American 2026 World Cup qualifying win over Chile on Sept 5.
Liverpool midfielder Mac Allister swept in a low finish three minutes after half-time to break the deadlock at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires against a defensive Chile side.
Former Manchester City striker Alvarez, now with Atletico Madrid, doubled the lead in the 84th minute with a thumping shot from outside the area before substitute Dybala sealed victory with a late strike in stoppage time.
It was another clinical victory for the reigning world and Copa America champions, who are now cruising towards confirming their place at the 2026 Finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
“We were superior until the 30th minute and we didn’t close it out well, and they even had a clear chance to score,” said Scaloni. “On a physical level and in terms of minutes... it’s common in September, this happens.
“But in the end it was a fair win, since we were able to dominate from the first goal. It was a deserved victory, another very good night.”
Scaloni’s team, on 18 points, lead South America’s 10-team round-robin qualifying table by five points after seven games. The top six teams in the final standings qualify automatically for the Finals with the seventh-placed team advancing to a play-off.
Argentina, who also beat Chile 1-0 on their way to clinching back-to-back Copa America titles earlier in 2024, went into the game missing injured captain Lionel Messi and veteran winger Angel di Maria, who retired from international football after the Copa triumph in July.
Di Maria, 36, was feted by his former teammates at a pre-game ceremony, before taking his place in the stands to watch the World Cup holders secure their sixth win from seven qualifying games.
Despite the absence of Messi, 37, and di Maria, Argentina had plenty of creative guile in attack with Lautaro Martinez and Alvarez causing problems for the Chile defence.
They also controlled the midfield with Mac Allister lining up alongside Rodrigo de Paul and Enzo Fernandez.
In the other qualifier, Bolivia reignited their campaign with a 4-0 drubbing over Venezuela in a game played more than 4,000m above sea level.
Goals from Ramiro Vaca, Carmelo Algaranaz, Miguel Terceros and Enzo Monteiro handed Bolivia only their second win of qualifying and lifted them into seventh place.
The result was a vindication of their move to play the match in El Alto – Spanish for “The Heights” – rather than at their usual home venue in neighbouring La Paz, which is 3,600m above sea level.
The thin air at 4,150m in El Alto clearly left Venezuela’s players struggling for energy against a Bolivian team aiming to qualify for their first World Cup since reaching the 1994 Finals in the United States.
Despite his team’s heavy loss, Venezuela coach Fernando Batista refused to dwell on the altitude issue.
“Out of 10 questions, eight are about altitude,” he said. “But you won’t hear anything from me about it.”
Venezuela, the only team from South America never to have qualified for a World Cup, are fourth in the standings on nine points and trailing Argentina, Uruguay and Colombia (12). AFP, REUTERS
