Argentina finally scores a few goals, edges Chile 2-1
Print Edition
ARGENTINA doubled its goal tally in South American qualifying for the World Cup by beating Copa America champion Chile 2-1 on Thursday.
Argentina was the runner-up in the 2014 World Cup, but has been below par in qualifying for Russia in 2018. It had only two goals in its first four qualifiers, and had to come from behind against Chile. Felipe Gutierrez scored for Chile in the 10th minute, but Angel di Maria leveled in the 19th and Gabriel Mercado got another five minutes later.
It was a bad start in qualifying for new Chile coach Juan Antonio Pizzi, who replaced Jorge Sampaoli.
Ecuador, the leader in South American qualifying, salvaged a 2-2 draw with Paraguay on Angel Mena’s equalizer in second-half stoppage time.
Paraguay was happy to get away with a point at 2,850 meters in Quito.
Enner Valencia gave Ecuador the early lead, but Dario Lezcano scored the next two bridging halftime to give Paraguay hope of a victory.
In La Paz, Bolivia, Edwin Cardona scored in second-half stoppage time for Colombia to edge Bolivia 3-2. James Rodriguez and Carlos Bacca scored first-half goals, and Bolivia rallied in the second half as Colombia got tired in the thin air. Juan Arce and Alejandro Chumacero scored, before Cardoza netted the winner.
There was another late goal in Peru, where Raul Ruidiaz scored in second-half stoppage time for the home side to draw with Venezuela 2-2. A first-half penalty from Romulo Otero and Mikel Villanueva’s strike gave the visitors a 2-0 lead before Paolo Guerrero reduced the deficit in the 61st.
In Europe, two-time defending champion Spain began its preparations for the European Championship with a 1-1 draw against Italy in a friendly.
Substitute Lorenzo Insigne fired Italy in front in the 68th minute. It was the first goal Spain had conceded in nearly 700 minutes. But Italy’s lead lasted just two minutes before Aritz Aduriz leveled with his first international goal.
Wales also drew 1-1 against Northern Ireland, thanks to a last-minute penalty from Simon Church, while the Czech Republic began its preparations with a 0-1 home defeat to Scotland.
Iceland also lost to a team which failed to qualify for the tournament as two goals in four minutes from Nicolai Jorgensen helped Denmark win 2-1. Cenk Tosun scored twice to help Turkey to a 2-1 victory over Sweden, while Ukraine beat Cyprus 1-0.
- About Us
- |
- Terms of Use
- |
-
RSS - |
- Privacy Policy
- |
- Contact Us
- |
- Shanghai Call Center: 962288
- |
- Tip-off hotline: 52920043
- 沪ICP证：沪ICP备05050403号-1
- |
- 互联网新闻信息服务许可证：31120180004
- |
- 网络视听许可证：0909346
- |
- 广播电视节目制作许可证：沪字第354号
- |
- 增值电信业务经营许可证：沪B2-20120012
Copyright © 1999- Shanghai Daily. All rights reserved.Preferably viewed with Internet Explorer 8 or newer browsers.
