Argentina (1) vs. Ecuador (1) – Results

Argentina tied with a score of 1-1 against Ecuador as a visitor in Guayaquil, for the last day of the CONMEBOL Qualifiers for the Qatar 2022 World Cup. Julián Álvarez was in charge of opening the scoring for the Albiceleste; while Ecuador achieved the tie at the end thanks to a controversial penalty with VAR intervention.

The team led by Lionel Scaloni reached 31 games undefeated, reaching the record set by Alfio Basile. Now, their next match will be friendly with the recently eliminated Italy in June at Wembley, England.

With this tie, Ecuador lost the chance to finish these qualifiers in third place; because Uruguay won their away match against Chile.

The team led by Gustavo Alfaro, Ecuador, stomped on their ground at the start of the game, generating very good high pressure that allowed them to have several dangerous chances, thanks to Michael Estrada and Romario Ibarra.

However, Argentina with all the resources available to it struck first in the match. In a great collective move started by Lionel Messi, in which he opened to the left for Nicolás Tagliafico, who sent across to the heart of the area, dropping the ball to Julián Álvarez, the young promise property of Manchester City and from Argentina, who finished off hard, towards the left post of the Ecuadorian goalkeeper, and opened the scoring, in his first goal with the national team jersey.

With the advantage on the scoreboard, Argentina settled little by little in the game. Later they began to generate more arrivals in the Ecuador area, and had some chances to score the second goal. In one of those opportunities, Ecuadorian goalkeeper Hernán Galíndez blocked a strong header from Argentine defender Nicolás Otamendi.

Second half

In the second half, Ecuador controlled possession of the ball for longer, although it did not create dangerous situations. For its part, the Albiceleste stepped on the area a few times without finishing.

When the game was coming to an end, the great controversial move of the match arrived. Gerónimo Rulli blocked a header from Gonzalo Plata, but the entire Ecuadorian team claimed Nicolás Tagliafico’s hand to the referee. The assistants warned the Brazilian Raphael Claus, who made the decision to review the play in the VAR and ended up sanctioning the penalty.

Next, the Argentine goalkeeper covered Enner Valencia’s shot, but the striker scored the rebound goal, to have the final 1-1.