The return of the public, the great goal by Michael Estrada, the terrible kick to Messi, the overwhelming train in Brazil, the sinking of Chile and not much else left the new date of the Eliminatory, the first of this marathon week in September. In terms of game, discreet. Let’s say that Peru 1 – Uruguay 1 is exciting, more than anything for the round trip. The rest, in the vein that football is showing us these days.
The fan. An essential factor in this sport, as important as the footballer for what he transmits to the protagonists and the game in general. Watching a group of boys race down the steps three at a time to celebrate Michael Estrada’s goal is the wonder of the excitement injected into the show. And seeing Estrada throw his shirt down, dodge hugs and jump over fences to go scream it with people is extraordinary. The footballer does play for the people and with them, he perceives the atmosphere of the stadium, feels the shouting and wants to respond. 30% of the capacity of each stage was allowed to enter, but it is already auspicious. And it will increase.
Machine. Brazil is still in locomotive mode and breaking records: no one had ever won the first 7 matches of a qualifying round in South America. And that was missing twelve players: the 9 who had been called up from English football and three more who were to arrive in Russia and Portugal, although, let’s be clear, of them only seven are regular starters or they enter followed: Alisson, Ederson, Thiago Silva, Fred, Gabriel Jesús, Firmino and Richarlison. You already have your seat reserved for the flight to Qatar. 33 points remain to be disputed and if he achieves only 6 he will be able to issue the ticket. It was not superior to Chile, it barely arrived twice, but it was enough to score the victorious goal of Everton Ribeiro.
The collapse. From Chile, Ecuador’s rival this afternoon. They did not play badly against Brazil, but they added another defeat. He arrives beaten, seventh, with just 6 points out of 21 (29%). Adding the 7 matches of the Qualifying Round and the 5 that he played in the Copa América, he lost 6 and won only 2. One to Peru and the other to Bolivia. He has not achieved the much-needed replacement for the Golden Generation and drags an alarming lack of a goal, aggravated by the absences of Alexis Sánchez and the Englishman Brereton, a welcome revelation in Brazil 2021. A victory would do wonders for Ecuador, to reaffirm its third position (or win second), give yourself more confidence to go to Uruguay on Thursday and definitely send a direct rival to the canvas. Chile does not rise from another fall.
The kick. From Venezuelan Adrián Martínez to Lionel Messi. It made half the world tremble. A brutal thrust in the tibia that bent his left leg and could end his career. It was to fracture it. You haven’t seen something like this for a long time; too violent, and it was not a play of imminent goal danger. Incomprehensible the Uruguayan referee Leodán González, two meters from the play and in front, without interference; he saw it, because he admonished the vinotinto defender, but how could he not interpret that it was for a direct red card …? He had to be corrected by the VAR for him to eject. If with that criterion he directs … Martínez apologized on Twitter to his teammates and coaching staff, not to Messi.
The goal. Precisely that of Michael Estrada to Paraguay that we pointed out at the beginning. A huge power, he dragged Héctor Martínez (River) and Junior Alonso (Atlético Mineiro) to the drag and defined in a big way with a low saber that passed between the legs of Anthony Silva. The celebration, as remarkable as the goal, shows the intensity with which the player lives the game, the passion he puts into it, his involvement. Without a doubt, the goal of the date.
The trust. From Argentina, after winning the Copa América and having removed the stone that meant being 28 years without titles. He achieved an expected victory against Venezuela in Caracas (3-1), working on the basis of dominance, possession and touch. The goals were coming by decantation. Scaloni has gotten the happy replacement and now has 30 players who can play and not clash. The best example are Correa, Joaquín and Ángel, figures and scorers at Inter and Atlético de Madrid. They come in and are important, they score goals. Or Dybala. Or Nico González, a new highlight of Fiorentina, or Lisandro Martínez, a titular player at Ajax. They are various. The DT moves the pieces and the scaffolding does not suffer. That speaks to a shared team idea. As in the case of Brazil, we intuit that Argentina is going to be in the World Cup.
The chubby. A cataract of criticism unleashed Neymar’s poor performance in Brazil, but especially his physical condition. He was seen thick, with a belly. Journalists and several former soccer players lashed out at him. The hardest was Walter Casagrande. In his column of O ‘Balloon wrote: “Neymar is clearly out of shape, slow and has lost almost every play he tried to make. In my opinion, Tite should have taken Neymar out of the game. It was a qualifier for the World Cup, not football with friends after a barbecue ”. Neymar faces a problem similar to Messi; After playing the Copa América almost two months ago, he only played 65 minutes for PSG and then this duel with Chile. It will surely tune up and pick up the pace.
The illusion. Until the 88th minute, when Felix Torres’ goal arrived, Ecuador had not enchanted it, Paraguay had complicated it with its traditional physical display; You don’t see many lights, but they run, run, run and wear out the adversary. With the two goals the triumph appeared, the relief after almost ten months without a victory. And the good positioning in the table. He left several pearls from 2 to 0: the great game of Estupiñán, the brilliant debut of Byron Castillo, the hallmark of Junior Sornoza, the deep and unstoppable dribbling of Plata, the aforementioned goal by Estrada, the revelation of Torres … Many names for get excited. (OR)