Julian Alvarez’s first-half strike was enough for defending FIFA World Cup champions Argentina to extend their unbeaten H2H record to eight matches (W6, D2) after beating Chile 1-0 at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martinez Prádanos.
Having confirmed their place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals after beating Brazil back in March, manager Lionel Scaloni named an experimental XI - with the returning Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martínez only named among the substitutes.
Nevertheless, it was Chile - who needed a win to stand any chance of securing the sole inter-confederation play-off position - who nearly struck first. Back in the international fold after missing eight qualifiers through injury, Alexis Sanchez almost marked his return with a bang after four minutes. Nonetheless, Emiliano Martinez was in no mood to be beaten so close to kick-off as he confidently palmed La Roja’s all-time leading scorer’s strike to safety.
Without Martínez and Messi, Alvarez was handed the responsibility to lead the line, and it only took the Atletico Madrid man 16 minutes to make his mark. Put through on goal by Thiago Almada’s defence-splitting pass – there was only ever going to be one outcome - as the Argentine cheekily dinked the ball over the onrushing Brayan Cortes to hand his side the lead.
One of Scaloni’s youthful inclusions, Nico Paz, nearly made it 2-0 not long after the half-hour mark, but Como's stand-out star throughout the 2024/25 campaign was only able to misfire his effort high into the stands.
Following a slow start to the second half, Scaloni finally introduced Messi after 57 minutes, but despite his return, Chile began to grow in momentum as Martínez had to be at his best to palm away Lucas Cepeda’s fierce strike before smartly getting down to keep out Rodrigo Echeverria’s effort.
Already with an eye for goal, Cepeda should have made it 1-1 as the game approached the final quarter-hour. However, despite having the back of the net at his mercy, the striker wastefully fired Chile’s final opportunity of the game the wrong side of the post.
A fourth consecutive win in 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification (WCQ) sees Argentina extend their lead at the summit of the standings to 10 points after Ecuador drew 0-0 with Brazil. Meanwhile, a ninth defeat from 15 World Cup qualifiers means Chile realistically need to win all three of their remaining matches - starting with a trip to Bolivia on Tuesday - and hope other results go their way if they want to make a first appearance at the finals since 2014.
Flashscore Man of the Match: Thiago Almada (Argentina)
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