Argentina 1-0 Ecuador: 5 talking points as La Albiceleste labour to unimpressive win | World Cup Qualifiers

#3 Argentina's Lucas Ocampos misses a sitter

Ocampos missed a glorious chance to score for Argentina

It might not have been the most eye-catching miss nor did it prove to be detrimental for Argentina but Lucas Ocampos' horrendous effort in the 48th minute is a major talking point from the game.

In what is only his fourth international cap, the Sevilla forward, who already has two goals for Argentina, was presented with a chance to double his side's cushion after receiving a headed knock-down by Messi, with no one marking him.

Yet, Ocampos contrived to blow it up, making a tame effort across the face of the goal, which Ecuador custodian Alexander Dominguez further palmed for a corner kick. For someone who's coming off the back of a stellar club campaign, the effort was shocking.

#4 Horrendous tackles marred the opening half

The match was filled with rash challenges and tackles

South American games are notorious for being dangerously physical, and it was further accentuated during this game's opening 45 minutes when nasty tackles, mostly from Ecuador's players, were flying in left, right and centre.

The first horrible challenge came from Pervis Estupinan, who hacked down Ocampos near the byline to concede the penalty, before Leandro Paredes returned the gesture with a dangerous sliding tackle on Renato Ibarra to earn himself a booking.

The game resembled less of a football match and more of a tackling match as it went forward, with Valencia also conceding fouls twice towards the end of the opening half.

The referee must also shoulder the blame for his lax decision-making, failing to punish players adequately. Even though both sides committed a staggering 33 fouls in total, he brandished just three yellow cards - a reflection of poor match officiating in CONMEBOL.

#5 Argentina have plenty of work to do

Despite the win, Argentina were below par for most of the match

Besides the three points, Argentina have little else to celebrate as this was a below-par performance by all accounts. The three-pronged attack of Messi, Ocampos and Lautaro Martinez didn't click as the trio failed to carve out clear-cut chances.

This could be because the team is playing for the first time in 11 months, which is an unusually long time, while also missing players like Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria, Paolo Dybala and Giovani Lo Celso.

Given the largely experimental line-up, Argentina couldn't work cohesively and despite dominating possession, failed to make use of the ball efficiently. Messi, as always, was left to do everything.

He tried to bring in Martinez and Ocampos with link-up play and even dropped back into the midfield to connect with Montiel on the right. However, if Argentina are to comfortably go through the qualifiers, they need to come together as a unit.