Argentina kicked off their South American Qualifiers for the 2022 World Cup with a hard-fought 1-0 win over Ecuador at an empty La Bombonera, thanks to a first-half penalty from Lionel Messi. The game wasn’t very fun to watch and Argentina weren’t even close to their best, but they earned three important points at home.
FIRST HALF
This was a classic South American World Cup Qualifier: lots of physicality, very little entertainment. Both teams kicked the living hell out of each other, there was no rythm to any attacks, and while Argentina had more of the ball and spent more time on Ecuador’s half, it is hard to say they were the better team.