The South American Qualifiers may be just getting started, but neither Argentina nor Uruguay are taking their game lightly. Only a few minutes into their derby, things got spicy and even Lionel Messi couldn’t keep his cool.
Mathias Olivera got furious at Rodrigo De Paul after challenging for a ball, and those around them immediately got involved but not to calm things down. Far from trying to make amends, Messi was mad at the Uruguayan player, grabbing him by the throat in the melee.
The referee didn’t show any yellow or red cards, though, and the game continued as if nothing happened. For those who watch South American soccer regularly, these kinds of situations are quite frequent.
In fact, even Messi has forged a reputation for being a player who can get angry with his opponents. That being said, to see him grab another player by the neck was still quite shocking.
Uruguay take the lead in Argentina
Though things got heated from the very beginning, both teams tried to move on and continued looking for the opening goal. Argentina, however, struggled to find a way past the Uruguayan defense.
La Celeste, on the other hand, capitalized on a terrible mistake by Nahuel Molina in the hosts’ own box. Matias Viña’s pressure on the Atletico Madrid right-back paid off, as the Uruguayan left-back recovered the ball to cross the ball for Ronald Araujo.
The Barcelona defender had a great finish to put the visitors in front, making Emiliano ‘Dibu’ Martinez concede his first goal since the 2022 World Cup final.
Argentina still atop the Conmebol qualifiers
While the game still has at least 45 minutes left, Argentina know they will head into Matchday 6 top of the standings regardless of their result tonight. That’s because they arrived in the fifth round five points clear of Brazil, Uruguay, and Venezuela.
But if they don’t turn things around against La Celeste, the reigning world champions’ lead could be on the line. On Tuesday, November 21, Lionel Scaloni’s team will take on Brazil in a highly anticipated derby.
The 2026 World Cup is still a few years away from us, but the road to the tournament is already heating up. Argentina should have no problem to qualify, but that’s not enough for them. La Albiceleste are as competitive as they come, so they will always seek perfection.
