Paraguay shocked world champions Argentina with a comeback win at home last night in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers.
Inter Milan forward Lautaro Martinez gave La Albiceleste an early in the 11th minute, but they couldn’t hold on to that as Torino’s Antonio Sanabria restored parity for the home side just eight minutes after that.
Argentina went on to dominate possession, however, their misfiring upfront proved dangerous as they were limited to only one shot on target out of seven total shots all game.
La Albirroja with one more total shot attempted and shots on target than their opponents, capitalized on their second shot on target to punish Lionel Scaloni’s side.
The home side took the lead just two minutes into the second half through Getafe player Omar Alderete.
Messi and his boys couldn’t find the magic wand to break the Paraguayan defense, as they failed to equalize. Paraguay won the game 2-1.
3rd consecutive loss for Lionel Messi
The defeat marked Messi’s third loss in a row after his club Inter Miami were beaten back-to-back by Atlanta United to eliminate them from the MLS Cup. Atlanta won both games 2-1 and 3-2 on November 2, and November 10, 2024, respectively.
The 37-year-old played the full length in all three games. He failed to find the back of the net in their first 1-2 loss but scored the second goal in their 2-3 defeat.
Messi had 67 touches of the ball and delivered two key passes. He also lost possession 14 times and was fouled on five different occasions last night.
Argentina’s next qualifying game will be against Peru on Wednesday, November 20, 2024.
Read Full Story
Facebook
Twitter
Pinterest
Instagram
Google+
YouTube
LinkedIn
RSS