Argentina's Rodrigo De Paul, Cristian Romero, Enzo Fernandez, Exequiel Palacios, Thiago Almada and Leandro Paredes celebrate beating Brazil in Buenos Aires on Tuesday. AFP
Argentina celebrated its 2026 World Cup qualification with a dazzling 4-1 thrashing of archrival Brazil in Buenos Aires on Tuesday.
Julian Alvarez, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister and Giuliano Simeone sealed an emphatic win for the world champion, which had been assured of its World Cup berth after Bolivia's 0-0 draw with Uruguay earlier Tuesday.
That goalless stalemate ensured a festive atmosphere at the Estadio Monumental before a ball had even been kicked, and Argentina kept the party going with a blistering performance.
Atletico Madrid forward Alvarez opened the scoring after just six minutes, latching onto Thiago Almada's through ball and dinking a close-range finish past Brazil goalkeeper Bento.
It got better for Argentina six minutes later, when Chelsea's Fernandez tucked away the host's second goal of the night after Brazil's back four failed to deal with a low cross.
With Brazil being run ragged by a rampant Argentina, it was thrown a lifeline on 26 minutes after a blunder by Cristian Romero gifted a goal to Matheus Cunha.
Tottenham defender Romero was caught in possession 25 yards from goal, allowing Cunha to steal in and drive a low shot past Emiliano Martinez to make it 2-1.
But, any hopes of a Brazilian fightback were snuffed out in the 37th minute with a superb goal from Mac Allister.
Almada was once again the creator, lofting a pass into the area that Mac Allister met with a first-time volley to make it 3-1.
With Argentina in complete control, Simeone then brought the house down with a 71st minute strike to make it 4-1 — his first international goal.
Simeone, the 22-year-old son of Argentine legend Diego Simeone, somehow blasted into the roof of the net from an acute angle to crown a dominant performance by the host.
The win means Argentina has qualified for next year's finals in the United States, Mexico and Canada with four games to spare.
The Argentines lead the 10-team qualifying group with 31 points from 14 games and are guaranteed one of the six automatic qualifying slots awarded to South America. Brazil is fourth.
Ecuador on track
In other South American games, Ecuador stayed on course for qualification with a 0-0 draw against Chile in Santiago. Ecuador is second in the standings, eight points adrift of Argentina on 23 points.
Uruguay's draw with Bolivia and Brazil's heavy loss allowed it to move up to third place on goal difference.
Colombia, meanwhile, missed the chance to close the gap on the leader after a 2-2 home draw with Paraguay in Barranquilla.
Goals from Luis Diaz and Jhon Duran fired Colombia into a 2-0 lead after just 13 minutes, but Paraguay grabbed a share of the points with goals from Junior Alonso and Julio Enciso.
Venezuela boosted its hopes of qualifying for a first-ever World Cup with a 1-0 win over Peru in Maturin.
Salomon Rondon's 41st-minute penalty secured three precious points for Venezuela, which is the only South American team never to have qualified for the World Cup.
Venezuela's win lifted it into seventh place in the table, leaving it on course for an inter-confederation playoff.
AFP
