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Result: Ecuador 1 - 3 Argentina
Goals
Ecuador: Romario Ibarra 1'
Argentina: Lionel Messi 12', Lionel Messi 21', Lionel Messi 62'
Teams that have qualified from the CONMEBOL region, ie South America - Brazil, Uruguay, Argentina, Colombia. Meanwhile, Peru advance to the play-off with New Zealand, win it and it will be their first WC since 1982.
That also means South America's two-time defending champions Chile will not be taking the flight to Moscow.
But before we go to the rest of South America, let's focus on what was a superb match at Quito that proved to be as entertaining as promised... Here then are the key talking points from the match
#5. Jorge Sampaoli's Dybala gamble pays off
Sampoali tested the Dybala-Messi-Icardi trident for one game and figured out it wouldn't work - as Uruguay ground out a draw with the Argentines in his first professional game in charge of La Albiceleste.
He tried it once again against Venezuela, but by then he'd seen enough.
His conclusion? Drop Dybala for the must-win game against Peru - and they drew that. Considering the sheer volume of flak he received for that move (as well as benching Icardi) a lesser man would have caved and played the in-form Juve man today, but then lesser men don't have cojones the size of small planets.
Figuring that Dybala and Messi were merely getting in each other's way - and with no time to work out an optimum solution, he simply decided to drop the one player he could from the duo - and against Ecuador it paid off. With everyone sticking to their positions as indicated, Messi was given the freedom of the park, and he showed everyone just what he can do.
#4. Ecuador's youngsters show the future is bright
There were rumours circulating that after Ecuador's truly abysmal run in the World Cup Qualifiers - four straight losses that dashed their hopes of qualification, there had been a major falling out that had resulted in the senior members boycotting the team and their Argentine coach Jorge Celico.
With the mood not improved by a fifth defeat on the eve of Argentina's visit, Celico had a lot on the line... but chose to trust his instincts and lined up a bunch of local lads and youngsters and asked them to go for it from the off.
Sure, in the end, it was a sixth straight loss, but this one was one of those defeats that one can only call glorious. The Ecuadorians attacked all night long - backed by an electric atmosphere in their home stadium - and never looked cowed or beaten for the vast majority of the match.
They rattled Argentina on numerous occasions and kept them on their toes throughout and in fairness looked much the more comfortable team when in possession of the ball.
Why did they lose then?
Well, it's like Jorge Sampaoli once said whilst coach of Sevilla... "Sometimes Messi let's you stop him. Sometimes he doesn't. Today he didn't."
#3. Argentina have a lot of work to do before Russia
While the dropping of Dybala may have worked well in the short term, but Sampaoli would be unwise to not use the jewel in his hand when it comes to the World Cup proper. The Juve man is simply too good to ignore, as is his Internazionale compatriot Mauro Icardi, and with some time, finally, to prepare before they set off to Russia Sampaoli has to figure out a way to allow Argentina's best-attacking footballers to play together.
And while it's evident Argentina are a better side with Angel Di Maria in it, it's also evident that his fragile body can break down without so much as a moment's notice - to merely create Plan A with Messi and Di Maria at the heart of it and leave it at that would be foolish (like what happened in the 2014 World Cup final) and Sampaoli's too clever a man not to realise that.
His midfield, and defence, meanwhile continue to look shaky, fragile, and ready to shatter with the lightest of pressure applied on them and that is no way for an Argentine rearguard to walk into a World Cup.
#2. The South American Qualifiers were superb entertainment
Chile may have missed out on the big party, but the CONMEBOL edition of the World Cup Qualifiers were an absolute hoot.
Brazil were sublime under Tite, playing their best football in years and in Neymar boasting the best player in this qualifying campaign anywhere. Uruguay were Uruguay - solid, rigid, unbreakable. Argentina had the Messi narrative going for them. Colombia provided plenty of romance with the return of El Tigre.
Peru's storming return to footballing superstardom caught the eye and the fact that both Paraguay and Chile could well have qualified on this final day showed just how close the whole campaign had become.
The bottom-markers Bolivia, Venezuela, and Ecuador all significantly improved when they played with the gay attacking abandon that only those who nothing to lose possess and there is a lesson there for all of them -fortune does, honestly, favour the brave. Oh, that and the fact that there is so much talent in the youth systems across all these less-favoured countries.
#1. Lionel Messi is a genius
Seriously, need I say more?
Written off, typecast as the glorious loser, the proud captain of a sinking ship, dismissed by experts and laymen equally as a player who simply couldn't lead men the way Diego Maradona used to... Lionel Messi scored his first ever hattrick in World Cup Qualifying to guide Argentina to their first win in Quito since 2001, only their second ever in this altitude.
Without Messi, Argentina could well have finished bottom of the South American table - so dire were they in his absence (due to injury and later suspension), and it really looked like that mediocrity and the pressure to excel had started to get to the great man, but today with the eyes of the world on him, he hoisted Argentina on his back and carried them all the way to Moscow by his lonesome.
Every time he touched the ball you felt something was going to happen and all three of his goals were sublime exhibitions of his skill and pure talent.
Sometimes you just have to sit back and admire genius.
Having said that, though, for the love of God, can someone please explain to me how he did this:
This Lionel Messi lad can play a bit, eh?
