The Bar for the National Team is Higher Than Ever

Everything is the same, nothing has changed. Can you believe it? Without Messi and with Angelito Di Maria – watching the game from the box – Argentina is still strong . Chile lasted a while against the two-time Copa America champion. Not even Ricardo Gareca’s wisdom was enough to moderate such a distance between one and the other. It was 3-0 because the World Champion did not stop its march, even though it is winning and its goal does not have any scares.

At the beginning of these lines, there will be no shortage of those who try to explain to us that Chile is a very weak team, one of the worst in this South American qualifier, which is true, but it can also be argued that it had a significant improvement when it tried, and it did so for a good part of the match that it lost to Argentina by 1-0.

If on June 25 it was Lautaro Martínez who scored the goal two minutes from the end, this time Inter’s star scorer understood perfectly what to do when the pass came from the right, in the third minute of the second half. Lautaro went towards the near post, but let the ball go through and snubbed the entire red defense. Behind him, Alexis MacAllister appeared and nailed a strong and low right-footed shot that reached the back of the net. A goal due to the gestation, the luxury of the Toro from Bahia and the definition of Alexis, another timeless crack.

The Bar for the National Team is Higher Than Ever.

In the 48th minute, the match returned to the tone that surrounds this wonderful group of players that represent us, with Scaloni and his assistants. The match was boring in the first half, because there were too many inaccuracies, Chile grouped well and hardly suffered. The Argentine midfield was weak, there were strong fouls on both sides and little excitement in the areas.

It was enough for Alexis’ goal to change everything. The crowd – which did not fill the Monumental – was much more supportive, Chile lost its initial order and the precision of the Argentine players continued to grow. Referee Valenzuela was lenient with some sanctions and the visitors equalised with great effort. However, the acclaimed Dibu did not suffer any problems.

Nico González was injured again and had to come off after playing in a strange place, as a right winger. Scaloni sent on Lo Celso and the team displayed their precise game, often with one touch, disrupting Chilean markings and efforts. There were not many opportunities to score the second goal, until Julián Álvarez nailed a tremendous left-footed shot, unexpected due to its profile, the violence of the shot and where the ball went. End of the game for Chile, with a bonus for everyone: Paulo Dybala, who played with number 10, did so for just fifteen minutes, but he was plugged in and sealed the result with a perfect shot that fooled Arias and went in next to the near post.

Chile will be a memory in a few hours, but what millions of Argentines saw on television is, once again, a team that continues to set the bar very high, unattainable for almost everyone. Defensive solidity, a midfield deployment that tires even those who watch from the outside, but that shares hierarchy, marking, talent and superior intelligence. Two attackers (Julián and Lautaro) who have no shame in playing together , looking for each other, loving each other, helping each other and assisting or scoring. One made the lethal feint of the first goal, the Cordovan put in that left-footed shot that made the crowd explode.

With substitutes who come on and move around as if they were indispensable. Which they clearly are, at this point in this exceptional, unrepeatable cycle, envied by the entire world and which does not lower its ambition to continue being the best in the world for a moment.