Despite welcoming back its captain and star player Lionel Messi, Argentina’s men’s national football team could not overcome its Venezuelan counterpart in their South American Qualifiers clash on Thursday. The final result was a 1-1 draw following a tense game in a rain-soaked field that gave both teams fits.
Nicolás Otamendi scored for the Albiceleste while Salomón Rondón did the honors for the Vinotinto. With this result, Argentina remains atop of the standings with 21 points, followed by Colombia (16) and Uruguay (15). Venezuela now has 10 points in the 8th position, one place behind the last slot in which a ticket to the 2026 World Cup is still in play.
Before the start of the game, the highlight was the return of Messi after missing two games due to injury. The Inter Miami star had not played with the national team since the Copa América final in July, in which Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 to claim the championship.
The awful state of the pitch, however, quickly became the talking point of the afternoon. Basic plays were rendered impossible as the ball would unexpectedly stall in puddles on the field, the product of heavy rains that delayed the beginning of the match for 30 minutes. The most difficult areas were those close to the boxes, where water could be seen splashing every time a player roamed by.
Argentina got out to an early lead courtesy of a goal by defender Nicolás Otamendi at the 16 minute mark. The play started on a free kick by Messi that landed in the box and was rejected by Venezuelan goalkeeper Rafael Romo. Unfortunately for him, the ball bounced off of his teammate Yordan Osorio and fell neatly at the feet of Otamendi, who only had to tap it in to give his team the 1-0 lead.
Far from giving in to frustration on account of their bad luck, Venezuela pressed up against coach Lionel Scaloni’s squad and made Argentine goalkeeper Germán Rulli work. Rulli was filling in for Emiliano Dibu Martínez, who missed the game and will also be absent at Argentina’s next international match against Bolivia . Football’s ruling body FIFA slapped Martínez with a two-game suspension for what it called “offensive behavior” against Chile and Colombia at the last two South American qualifying matches.
Rulli’s magnificent play, however, was not enough to stop the whirlwind of Venezuelan offense. At the 68 minute mark, a pass from Sotelo found Salomón Rondón in a perfect position to head the ball in past the goalkeeper’s efforts. The game turned in to a back-and-forth affair from there until the end, with neither team able to score again.
Argentina’s next match in the South American Qualifiers will be against Bolivia at the Monumental stadium in Buenos Aires, on Tuesday, October 15, at 9 p.m.