MY ACCOUNT
Despite making history in Argentina’s 1-1 draw against Ecuador, manager Lionel Scaloni seemed disappointed to share the points away from home.
It looked like it was going to be a win and a clean sheet for the visiting side after Julian Alvarez put them up in the first half, before late drama.
VAR ruled that a 90th-minute header struck the arm of an Argentinian defender, and Enner Valencia stepped up from the penalty spot and put home the rebound after his initial strike was saved.
With the result, Argentina have now played 31 games since their last loss, dating back to the 2019 Copa America semi-final, which is the longest active unbeaten run in international football.
Argentina’s 31-game unbeaten streak also matched the record feat achieved by the national team from 1991 to 1993.
However Scaloni, who received a yellow card from the sideline, was focused on the difficulty of the World Cup qualifying campaign as a whole.
“These two dates [against Venezuela and Ecuador] were very hard for us,” he told reporters.
“Between suspensions, injuries and players who arrived very fair, we had to support each other and I appreciate that very much.
“They are very hard to play – sometimes people really don’t realise how hard they are. I was just talking to the boys from the under-20s who came to watch the match, and they couldn’t understand the degree of difficulty that the matches present.
“Today’s game was played on a field that was not in good condition – it was almost impossible to play from below – even so, we had a good first half, but in the second they came to us.”
It was a different story for Ecuador manager Gustavo Alfaro, who addressed the crowd and called it “one of the happiest moments of my life”.
“I thank my family, everyone who was part of this process and this achievement, which is the most important in my career,” he said.
“I am living one of the happiest moments of my life. Nobody believed in Ecuador, and today it stands up and says present to the world.
“The challenge that is coming to us [the World Cup] is for 17 million people.”
