In the second Group A match of the day, an early goal by Argentina secures their win at the Estádio Nacional Mané Garrincha, in Brasilia, Brazil. In the 13th minute of the game, Messi crosses the ball from the left side of the field to Guido Rodriguez, who heads it back across goal, off the left post and into the goal to give Argentina an early lead and the eventual victory.
The game was refereed by Wilton Sampaio who is a Brazilian referee. This is interesting because both Uruguay and Argentina especially, are rivals of Brazil when it comes to fútbol. The game was a particularly rough one with a recorded 32 called fouls, with Argentina surprisingly being recorded as having committed exactly half as many fouls as Uruguay.
Messi, although having a freekick attempt, would otherwise remain silent during the game as far as goalscoring opportunities go. He would play more of a Luka Modric-type of role and distribute the ball more than he would create chances himself.
Uruguay would struggle on offense as they only had one good chance to equalize in the second half, off of a cross that would miss both the incoming head of Edinson Cavani, and the outstretched foot of Luis Suarez. For the most part, Uruguay played well on defense, but started to come apart a bit in the second half as Argentine players were allowed to dribble for 20-30 yards, straight down the middle of the field while the Uruguayan defenders simply ran with them as opposed to challenging them head-on.
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Chile vs Bolivia:
Chile would also win 1-0 due do an early goal in the 10th minute from forward Ben Brereton, who would slot the ball past the keeper after a well-executed breakaway, to score his first goal for the team in only his second ever appearance for the Chilean side.
Photo: Luis Suarez, from Shutterstock, taken by AGIF
