World champions Argentina on Tuesday showed their steel and killer instinct as they beat Chile 1-0 to book their place in the Copa America quarter-finals.
Lautaro Martinez’s 88th-minute winner delighted the 82,000, pro-Argentina crowd at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey.
The result left Chile, Copa America winners in 2015 and 2016, needing to beat Canada on Saturday to have hope of staying in the tournament.
Photo: Vincent Carchietta-USA Today
Argentina are chasing their third straight major title after their Copa win in 2021 and FIFA World Cup triumph the following year, and the confidence that comes with success was evident.
Despite valiant resistance from Chile, Lionel Scaloni’s team never lost belief as they delivered another performance full of grit, allied with the flair and imagination that delights their fans.
“It was a well-deserved win,” Scaloni said. “The truth is that the match was not easy and we won in the least expected moment, I would say, but as always, the team kept believing and kept attacking even though they started to stretch a bit more in the last 10 or 12 minutes.”
Scaloni praised the work of Chile’s Argentine coach Ricardo Gareca, who took over in January, calling them “a very, very tough opponent.”
Argentina’s midfield, with Enzo Fernandez and Alexis Mac Allister in the middle, and Rodrigo de Paul and Nicolas Gonzalez out wide, had the upper hand for most of the game.
Liverpool’s Mac Allister said they had to earn that dominance.
“It was very hard, we knew it was going to be like this. Generally these games are like a war, there is like a fight between the two teams. It was a nice show, we all gave 100 percent and in the end we ended up winning,” he said.
Chile’s draw against Peru leaves them with just a solitary point and needing to beat Canada, who upset Peru 1-0 earlier on Tuesday.
Gareca said he was sure his team could get the result they need.
“I think we have a chance, our chances are still intact in the last game, we’re going to give everything to have a chance of qualifying,” he said. “It was a tough, complicated match, as you would expect. I think the guys played a great game in terms of, more than anything, trying to control Argentina.”
Rugby organizers in Taiwan hope that a tournament in Singapore next week would be the catalyst to boost the sport in the nation. However, with a team of mostly university students up against more experienced players from their two opponents, Taiwan face a stern challenge at the first edition of the Unions Cup. Taiwan coach Huang Chi-hsang at a training session at the University of Taipei yesterday said that the other two teams — Singapore and Thailand — can draw on a wider pool of players, including those with overseas experience. Taiwan captain Chien Tzu-fan is one of the older hands on the
KING OF QUEEN’S: In London, Tommy Paul became the first US player to win the Queen’s Club Wimbledon warm-up since Sam Querrey in 2010 Taiwan’s Hsieh Su-wei and Elise Mertens of Belgium on Sunday claimed the Rothesay Classic doubles title in Birmingham, England, while Kazakhstan’s Yulia Putintseva won her first senior grass-court women’s singles title. Top seeds and reigning Australian Open champions Hsieh and Mertens defeated Zhang Shuai of China and Miyu Kato of Japan 6-1, 6-3 at the Edgbaston Priory Club in 59 minutes. “I’ve already played two doubles finals here and I lost all of them, so I’m very happy to win this one,” Mertens told the Lawn Tennis Association Web site. “Birmingham is of course very important in the lead up to Wimbledon,
Four of the P.League+’s six teams and all five of the T1 League’s clubs have signed a letter of intent to join a proposed new basketball league, New Taipei Kings chairman Walter Wang said on Saturday. The planned league of at least 10 teams would include the Kings, which Wang founded, and one from Southeast Asia, he told a news conference in New Taipei City. It is time to take professional basketball in Taiwan to the next level by forming a new league, he said, adding that he has been in discussions with many team owners and was working to convince the
Taiwanese world No. 3 women’s doubles star Hsieh Su-wei and Belgian partner Elise Mertens on Saturday dominated Asia Muhammad of the US and Aldila Sutjiadi of Indonesia to advance to the final at the Rothesay Classic Birmingham. Top seeds Hsieh and Mertens — who are eyeing their third doubles title this year after victories at BNP Paribas Open and the Australia Open — were to play Japan’s Miyu Kato and China’s Zhang Shuai in the final on Ann Jones Centre Court last night after press time. Hsieh and Mertens beat Muhammad and Sutjiadi 6-1, 6-2 in a swift 57 minutes at Edgbaston