Argentina is alive. The 2015 and 2016 finalists will play in the knockout rounds of the 2019 Copa America thanks to a 2-0 win over Qatar in Porto Alegre on Sunday. The Albiceleste were the best team and never looked like losing, and despite an average performance from Barcelona’s Lionel Messi the rest of the side looked strong and clinched not only a place in the quarterfinals but second place in the group, which sets up a very favorable matchup against Venezuela in the next round.
FIRST HALF
The game started with an early goal for Argentina thanks to a terrible mistake by the Qatar defense and a good finish by Lautaro Martínez, which eased the pressure on the favorites and let them play the game how they wanted.