Europe is in the midst of qualifying for the 2024 European Cup, and South America has begun qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. On the morning of September 8, in the first round of the South American World Cup preliminaries, the defending champion Argentina defeated Ecuador 1-0 at home. Messi scored a direct free kick, and the magic of the world champion continued.
This game was held at the Monument Stadium, the home of the Argentine giants River Plate. It was a gathering of stars. Argentina captain Messi was the ball king. Ecuadorian strongman Caicedo became the top player in world football this summer transfer window with a transfer fee of 133 million euros. Transfer “Biard King”. Caicedo has performed poorly at Chelsea and some fans have already called him a parallel import. Argentinian midfielder Enzo joined Chelsea in the winter transfer window at a high price of 121 million euros at the beginning of the year. His performance so far has not been satisfactory. In this campaign, he had a direct confrontation with club teammate Caicedo. Caicedo also met McAllister, his former Brighton midfield partner who played for Liverpool. Compared with Caicedo and Enzo, Mai’s transfer fee of 42 million euros this summer is much more friendly.
[图]World Cup Qualifying – Messi scores a free kick to win Argentina 1-0 Ecuador
Caicedo not only has to deal with Enzo and McAllister, but also “take care of” Messi, who often retreats into the midfield to organize attacks. In the 18th minute, Caicedo kicked down Messi and was called for a foul, but the free kick taken by the ball king did not pose a threat. Caicedo performed better in the national team than in Chelsea. Ecuador, who was on the defensive, did not show any flaws in the first half. Messi and center Lautaro did not get a good chance. The two teams entered with 0-0. Intermission.
Argentina coach Scaloni made his first substitution in the 62nd minute, replacing Fiorentina winger Gonzalez with veteran Di Maria. In the 77th minute, Manchester City forward Alvarez and Roma midfielder Paredes came on as substitutes, replacing Lautaro and McAllister. Alvarez played for River Plate before joining Manchester City, and the home fans gave him a warm cheer.
Argentina finally broke the deadlock in the 78th minute. Messi took a direct free kick over the wall and flew into the dead center of the goal. The ball king opened his arms and made a flying celebration. This is Messi’s 104th goal on behalf of Argentina. He continues to be far ahead in the scorer list in Argentina’s history. “God of War” Batistuta ranks second with 55 goals. Messi previously played 11 times on behalf of his new club Inter Miami, scoring 11 goals and providing 5 assists. After returning to the national team, Messi continued his fiery scoring sensation.
Messi was replaced in the 88th minute and enjoyed the applause and cheers of Argentina’s home fans. Before leaving the field, the ball king personally put on the captain’s armband for Di Maria. The midfielder of Bundesliga “leader” Leverkusen, Palasi Oss comes off the bench.
It is difficult to score goals in South America. In the other two games in the first round of the World Cup preliminaries, Paraguay drew 0-0 with Peru and Colombia narrowly defeated Venezuela 1-0.
2023-09-08 03:35:33
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