and in this way Lionel Scaloni’s cycle at the head of the national team extended to 35 matches without defeats, reaching a historical mark that Brazil and Spain had, and remaining two from the maximum length of time undefeated by a selected team, which is the 37 of Roberto Mancini’s Italy. In addition, Messi added 100 wins with the albiceleste shirt.
The photo of the first half was a snapshot of the goal of Julian Alvarez when barely a dozen minutes of the game had elapsed, because until the 10th minute the Jamaicans had surprised with a “simulacrum” of high pressure that seemed to be surprised in that brief period of play.
But it was enough for the Argentine players to become aware of their hierarchy, clearly much superior to that of their adversary, to begin to develop that game of control that characterized the national style of the old days, revived after the establishment of Lionel Scaloni in the technical direction, so that everything went through the logical paths.
Two short ones and one long one the old specialists said was “ours”, and that and nothing else was what the Argentine team did from 10 minutes, with Young Lo Celso playing “of Messi” y Alexis Mac Allister “of Lo Celso”.
Two short and the long clearance and to the right for the captain Angel Di Maria who, also as in the old days, played as a winger and not as a “winger”, with the touch of “modernity” of doing it with a changed leg, facing and overflowing always glued to the sideline looking for the bottom line before the center.
Two short ones also to avoid that high pressure from the bottom with the clear exit of the reappeared Christian Romero opening from the center to the left, where he received a raise Nicholas Tagliafico that he had already overcome that first obstacle and could have receivers in attack.
And so it came immediately, after 12 minutes, the Argentine goal, when after passing the ball through the two mentioned protagonists, it continued in Lo Celsothe filter pass to Lautaro Martinezthe dribbling cuts inside the area from right to left and the pass to the middle so that Julian Alvarez define left-footed and first, scoring Manchester City his second goal with the albiceleste shirt.
The first of the former River Plate in the selection was in the last game of the South American Qualifiers against Ecuador, in Guayaquil, in that 1 to 1 against the team led by the Argentine Gustavo Alfaro.
And the photo of the first period was the goal mentioned at just 12 minutes precisely because the rest of its development had the same characteristics described, with Argentina manipulating the development to one or two touches, both to get close to the goal defended by the jamaican captain André Blake as if to avoid the physical rigor of the Central American soccer players, who clearly proved to be more than the Hondurans,
It is that that play had 27 touches and the 10 Argentine field players came into contact with it, the last being precisely the author of the goal.
In fact, who else was entertained with the ball at his feet, Guido Rodriguezhe suffered because he received two strong tackles from the rival starting midfielder, Ravel Morrison, the first punished with a yellow card by the Mexican referee Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava and the second, deserving of a new reprimand, was forgiven by the judge, surely so as not to distort the show.
The second part opened with the clamorous expectation of the Argentine fans who took over the Red Bull Arena asking for the entry of Lionel Messi, something that materialized just after 10 minutes.
But that second part did not have the rhythm of the first, because due to the slackening of the Jamaican pressure, the Argentine team slowed down their game more, which consisted of longer possessions, which delayed the arrival of the ball near the area. adversary.
So both teams felt more and more comfortable with that game situation, because the Jamaican team suffered less in defense and the Argentine team less physically required themselves in attack.
So, with a few stacking attempts of Messi and some long unsuccessful qualification of those that normally have high precision, the entry of a young man to the field of play to try to touch the Argentine captain who was quickly intercepted by the security forces, and the succession of changes that he tried Staircases, among them again the income of Enzo Fernándezthe last game “seriously” pre Qatar was consumed.
Because the next one, the one on November 16 against the United Arab Emirates of the Argentine coach Rodolfo Arruabarrena will be more of a training session than a meeting with all the formalities of the case.
But Messi was on the court, and when “Comadreja”, as he was renamed Rodrigo De Paul and Alejandro Gómez, “pica”, everything is possible. And Rosario made every dollar that the ticket cost worth, in just, only, with three minutes in his style.
At 40 minutes he closed with a low and crossed left foot, an action similar to that of the goal by Álvarez in the first half, and three later with a free kick under the barrier, against the right post, to repeat his two goals as against Honduras and also seal a final 3-0.
And between the two of them, he even had time to sign another fan’s back in the middle of the field, who circumvented security and handed him a fibron so he could leave his autograph under his neck.
Two goals to reach 90 with the Argentine shirt and become the third with the most goals in national teams in history, behind the 117 of Cristiano Ronaldo with that of Portugal and the 109 of Aklí Daei with that of Iran.
November 11 Staircases will be in Madrid awaiting the arrival of all the members of the team that 11 days later will debut in Group C of the World Cup against Saudi Arabia at the Lusain stadium in Qatar. And there will be “Lío”. And with him, all the albicelestes dreams are possible.
The anthem
formations
Argentina: Emiliano Martinez; Gonzalo Montiel, Cristian Romero, Nicolás Otamendi and Nicolás Tagliafico; Alexis Mac Allister, Guido Rodríguez and Giovani Lo Celso; Ángel Di María (captain), Lautaro Martínez and Julián Álvarez. DT: Lionel Scaloni.
Jamaica: André Blake (captain); Adrián Mariappa, Damión Lowe, Javain Brown and Amarii Bell; Bobby Reid, Daniel Johnson, Ravel Morrison and Leon Bailey; Michael Antonio and Shamar Nicholson. DT: Heimir Hallgrímsson (Iceland).
Goal in the first half: 12m. Alvarez (A).
Goal in the second half: 40m. and 43m. Messi (A).
Changes in the second half: 10m. Enzo Fernández for Roderíguez (A) and Lionel Messi for Martínez (A), 23m. Andre Gray by Nicholson (J), 25m. Rodrigo DePaul by Mac Allister (A), 32m. Lisandro Martínez for Di María (A), Joaquín Correa for Álvarez (A) and Nahuel Molina for Montiel (A) and Kaheem Parris for Brown (J) and 42m. Jamal Lowe by Antonio (J).
Booked: Morrison (J).
Cancha: Red Bull Arena (New Jersey).
Referee: Marco Antonio Ortiz Nava (Mexico).
Spectators: 25,000.
