Martinez on the mark

Argentina took their unbeaten run to 25 matches and moved a step closer to qualifying for the World Cup with a hardfought 10 win over Peru on ThursdayLautaro Martinez scored the only goal of the game two minutes before the break with a powerful header while Yoshimar Yotun missed a second half penalty for PeruOn his first start for his country Raphinha scored a brace as Brazil all but mathematically booked their place at the World Cup with a 41 thrashing of UruguayNeymar Barbosa scoreNeymar and Gabriel Barbosa scored the other goals while Luis Suarez notched Uruguayrsquos consolation Brazil top the single South American qualifying group by six points from Argentina who have a nine point gap to those that could deny them a berth at Qatar 2022Brazilrsquos Raphinha right celebrates with Neymar after scoring against Uruguay in Arena Amazonia Brazil on ThursdayArgentina last lost in the 2019 Copa America semifinalsmdash20 against Brazil Since then the South American giants have been unstoppable beating Brazil twice on their run including earlier this year in the 2021 Copa America finalIn the early stages in windy Buenos Aires Peru looked capable of causing an upset but striker Gianluca Lapadula prodded their bets chance straight into Argentina goalkeeper Emiliano Martinezrsquos midriffArgentina centerback Cristian Romero thought he had put the hosts in front when headed in a Rodrigo De Paul freekick only to be flagged offside Perursquos approach was industrious and crude with Lionel Messi subjected to several rash challengesLionel ScalonilsquoWe were tiredrsquoArgentina took the lead two minutes before halftime as Lautaro Martinez sent a bullet header from Nahuel Molinarsquos cross straight over goalkeeper Pedro Gallesersquos head ldquoYou could see we were tired todayrdquo admitted Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni after an ldquoexhaustingrdquo three matches in the space of a week ldquoWe got on with it and took the points which is what we wantedrdquoVAR chaos in ColombiaColombia and Ecuador played out a fractious illtempered 00 draw in Barranquilla that did little to boost either sidersquos qualification hopes as they battle for a top four finish The match lasted more than 15 minutes over the regulation 90 due to two interminable second half VAR breaksThe first overturned a decision to award Ecuador a penalty while the second 10 minutes into time added on eventually chalked off what had appeared to be a winning goal by giant Colombia centerback Yerry MinaAlso Read Ravi Kumar Dahiya My goal is a gold medal at Paris Olympics 2024This story has been sourced from a third party syndicated feed agencies Midday accepts no responsibility or liability for its dependability trustworthiness reliability and data of the text Midday managementmiddaycom reserves the sole right to alter delete or remove without notice the content in its absolute discretion for any reason whatsoever