# | Team | P | W | D | L | GF | GA | GD | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Group Group A | |||||||||
1
|
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 7 | 2 | 5 | 10 | |
2
|
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 4 | 2 | 2 | 7 | |
3
|
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 6 | |
4
|
4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 5 | |
5
|
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 2 | 10 | -8 | 0 | |
Group Group B | |||||||||
1
|
4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 10 | 2 | 8 | 10 | |
2
|
4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 7 | -2 | 7 | |
3
|
4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | -1 | 4 | |
4
|
4 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 5 | 6 | -1 | 3 | |
5
|
4 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 6 | -4 | 2 |
Until next time, this is Aditya Hosangadi bidding you farewell! Cheers, and have a good night (or morning)!
There are positives from this game for Scaloni, with De Paul and Lo Celso laying down a marker and establishing their places in the team. Today's team selection does raise a few questions, however, and the likes of Di Maria, Lisandro Martinez, and Marcos Acuna will be knocking on their manager's door in the coming days.
Argentina now face a daunting task against Uruguay on Friday and can ill afford to drop more points this week.
Chile seem bouyed by their equaliser and smell blood here. They mount another attack on the left flank and get the cross in but Vidal's header flies straight into Martinez's hands.
Argentina from left to right now as Chile come out with some intent.
The context? Chile have conceded 14 fouls in the first half. That's one foul every three (or so) minutes!
How many times have we seen him do it? How many times has Claudio Bravo seen him do it, first-hand? And yet, nothing was stopping that strike. Sheer brilliance from Lionel Messi. Argentina will need much more of that to challenge the likes of Brazil and Uruguay this month.
Chile started well but have since struggled to make a mark on the game. La Roja have already picked up three yellow cards - both Vidal and Pulgar are on a booking and will have to be very careful in the second half.
Argentina lead at the break in Rio de Janeiro!
Chile really do need to be careful here. The game has been slipping away from them for a while now, and these bookings will not help.
Argentina find an opening as Emi Martinez finds his namesake with a long ball, and Lautaro cushions it for Lo Celso. Pulgar steps in with an ugly tackle from behind and takes one for the team. Bookings racking up here for Chile.
Messi with a trademark diagonal ball to Nico Gonzalez, who chips the ball past Isla, the full-back comes back with a vengeance and is nowhere near the ball. Free-kick for Argentina.
Argentina get things started from right to left.
Scaloni has several resources at his disposal with the likes of Sergio Aguero, Angel Di Maria, and Angel Correa all on the bench. Those are some serious super-subs!
The midfield is as expected from Argentina with De Paul and Paredes forming the core of Argentina's new control-oriented approach. Lo Celso will be slightly more advanced than his partners-in-crime and will look to link up with Lionel Messi.
Chile may not be as strong as they were in 2016, but they're perfectly capable of pulling off an upset. Don't write them off just yet.
Enzo Roco, Gabriel Castellon, Claudio Baeza, Gabriel Arias, Clemente Montes, Tomas Alarcon, Cesar Pinares, Pablo Galdames, Sebastian Vegas, Felipe Mora, Marcelino Nunez, Benjamin Brereton
Franco Armani, Angel Correa, Lisandro Martinez, Agustin Marchesin, Nahuel Molina, Guido Rodriguez, German Pezzella, Joaquin Correa, Sergio Aguero, Exequiel Palacios, Angel Di Maria, Marcos Acuna
Claudio Bravo; Eugenio Mena, Guillermo Maripan, Gary Medel, Mauricio Isla; Erick Pulgar, Arturo Vidal, Jean Meneses, Charles Aranguiz; Carlos Palacios, Eduardo Vargas
Emiliano Martinez; Nicolas Tagliafico, Nicolas Otamendi, Lucas Martinez Quarta, Gonzalo Montiel; Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo De Paul, Giovani Lo Celso; Nicolas Gonzalez, Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martinez
Colombia edged Ecuador to a narrow 1-0 victory after Edwin Cardona found the back of the net minutes before half-time.
Brazil brushed past Venezuela yesterday with a comprehensive performance. The Selecao have been brilliant under Tite and really do look like favourites at the moment. Brazil vs Argentina final, anyone? Maybe we should wait for the Albicelestes to play their cards first.
Lionel Scaloni seems to have learnt from his predecessors' errors in judgement and has assembled a balanced squad for Copa America 2021. With the likes of Emiliano Martinez, Cristian Romero, and Rodrigo De Paul in the form of their lives, this may very well be Argentina's best chance to win their first major trophy since the turn of the millennium.
Three hours to go for kick-off! While we wait with bated breath, here's Argentina's strongest XI going into this game:
Strongest possible starting XI for Argentina | Copa America 2021
Argentina vs Chile prediction, preview, team news and more | Copa America 2021
At this point in his career, this particular edition of Copa America and next year's World Cup are probably the only two things running through Messi's footballing brain. Argentina have gone far too long without a trophy for a footballing nation of their stature and it is only fitting that a bonafide deity of the game ends their drought and ends a debate that has raged on for more than a decade.
Chile face a stern challenge in Copa America 2021 and cannot bank on Alexis Sanchez to bail them out of trouble this time. Argentina, on the other hand, have assembled a well-rounded squad but have a history of letting themselves down on the big stage.
Will history repeat itself? Or can the Albicelestes finally seize the initiative and lift their first major international trophy in an astonishing 28 years?
I'm Aditya Hosangadi, and I'll be your host for the day as we follow a match that will likely be crucial to Argentina's chances of success in this tournament.