Argentina will visit Venezuela in the early morning of October 11 (Vietnam time) determined to return to victory after losing to Colombia in the most recent match in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers last month.
Coach Lionel Scaloni welcomed Lionel Messi back and paired him with Julian Alvarez in attack in a 4-3-1-2 formation. Venezuela is in the middle of the rankings before this match, but the sign of an unfavorable day for Argentina is the weather conditions.
The match had to postpone the start time due to rain affecting the pitch. It is no surprise to see a difficult start when the ball is affected by the puddles.
Of course, Argentina is having more difficulties, so set pieces are important. And that was how the visitors found their opening goal.
Goalkeeper Rafael Romo had a missed clearance that reached Nicolas Otamendi, who taped the ball into an empty net, silencing the home crowd.
Salomon Rondon had a great chance to equalize in the middle of the match as he headed towards the goal, but the ball stopped on a flooded field and created conditions for the home team's defense to intervene.
Rondon had another chance just before the break when he volleyed into the opponent's net from close range, but Geronimo Rulli blocked it.
Although Argentina took the lead, the home team still dominated in the first half and quickly showed that when the second half started, forcing Rulli to work early from Yangel Herrera's strong header.
Venezuela maintained the pressure and finally equalized in the 65th minute. Rondon finally found a goal when he jumped high to head the ball into the net.
In such conditions, the two teams seemed satisfied with 1 point. The coordination became difficult and there were no clear opportunities.
Although extending their winless streak in the qualifying round to 5 matches, this score helped Venezuela temporarily overcome Brazil before Selecao ended the match with Chile.
As for Argentina, they are still at the top of the table and have extended their lead to 3 points with Colombia - the team that lost 0-1 in Bolivia. Ecuador and Paraguay drew 0-0 in the remaining match.
