Hyderabad: Argentina played a 1-1 draw against Venezuela in the FIFA World Cup South American Qualifiers. The fixture marked the return of Lionel Messi to international football. The 37-year-old returned to action after suffering an injury in the Copa America final against Colombia and played a key role in the Argentibna’s goal.
The match was delayed by half an hour due to the rain and the players had to work hard on a soggy pitch. Messi managed to provide a key pass to Nicolas Otamendi who scored the opening goal in the 13th minute.
Venezuela fought back in the second half as Salomon Rondon put the ball into the back of the net with a header on a cross provided by Yeferson Soteldo. Despite playing a draw. Argentina have retained their position in the standings at the top with 19 points in their kitty. Venezuelan, on the other hand, climbed to the sixth position with 11 points. Argentina will be up against Bolivia in the next fixture while Venezuela will square off against Paraguay.
Messi was upset with the pitch conditions after the fixture and he called it an ‘ugly’ match.
"It was an ugly match. We couldn't even make two passes in a row, the ball stopped because of the water on the pitch. It is difficult to play in these conditions, the pitch did not help," Messi told TyC Sports after the game.
In the other match, Brazil managed to pull off a 2-1 victory over Chile. Brazil fell behind early in the game as Eduardo Vargas scored a goal through a header on a cross provided by Felipe Loyola cross. Igor Jesus scored the equaliser for Brazil in the stoppage time of the first time. Luiz Henrique curled a brilliant strike in the 89th minute to help the team secure three points.
Brazil climbed up to the fourth place in the standings with 13 points.
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