World Cup Qualifiers: Argentina follows Brazil to the finals

“It was hard work,” Messi said after a tough game in San Juan, Argentina. Both teams had few chances to score. This did not affect the atmosphere: the Argentine team and above all Messi put the fans in a state of euphoria. In the past few days, fans have queued for hours to get a ticket.

Messi returned to the field after a knee injury, and the Paris Saint-Germain star came close to scoring at the end with a shot that was saved by Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson. His colleague Neymar was absent from Brazil due to muscle problems. Vinicius Jr. missed a good opportunity for “Selecao”, Fred hit the crossbar once. Argentine Nicolas Otamendi escaped a red card after an elbow kick against Ravenha and a video assistant decision. This angered Tite with the head of the Brazil team. To the referees, he said it was “impossible” not to see it.

The participation of the Argentines, who are undefeated in 27 international matches, was not immediately confirmed. Then Ecuador beat Chile, so Argentina could no longer be knocked out of the top four in the South American qualifiers. The fifth plays in an intercontinental play-off for another starting position.

After Brazil and Argentina, Ecuador now has good chances, and Colombia is currently fourth, ahead of Peru, Chile and Uruguay. Even Bolivia is still running at full capacity after beating Uruguay 3-0.

Canada moves up the CONCACF table

In the CONCACAF (North and Central America, Caribbean) region, Canada is suddenly on top. Kyle Larrain scored two goals for the home side in a 2-1 victory over Mexico at -8 degrees below zero in Edmonton.

The Canadians, last in the 1986 World Cup Finals, are unbeaten with four wins and four draws after eight rounds. In the table, they are now one point ahead of the United States, who played 1-1 in Jamaica. For the Americans, it was Salzburg’s Brendan Aaronson on the field. Mexico and Panama followed by one point. The top three are firmly located in Qatar, the fourth is a playoff.

Ivory Coast missed the World Cup

Ivory Coast had to bury their dream of reaching the World Cup in the African qualifiers. Cameroon won by penalty kick 1-0 and entered the decisive stage. Algeria, Nigeria and Tunisia have also been there since Tuesday. Before that, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Ghana, Mali, Morocco and Senegal made their way to the play-off matches. The ten teams will now compete in five knockout matches with the first leg match for the five Africa World Cup tickets.