Argentina remain on top despite 1-1 draw
September 12th, 2012 - 3:32 pm ICT by IANS
Rio de Janeiro, Sep 12 (IANS) Peru’s Bayern Munich striker Claudio Pizarro missed a first-half penalty as Argentina held on for a barely deserved 1-1 draw in their football World Cup qualifier in Lima.
Carlos Zambrano made up for Pizarro’s early miss with a 21st-minute strike before Real Madrid forward Gonzalo Higuain equalised for Argentina after Ezequiel Lavezzi’s cross Tuesday, reports Xinhua.
Peru had the best of the second-half chances and managed to nullify the effect of Barcelona star Lionel Messi, who was marked out of the match.
“The fight we showed to get back into the match was great,” Argentina’s Javier Mascherano said.
“It’s difficult to come here and win as the visiting team and that’s why I think this point is going to be important later on.”
In other South American qualifiers Tuesday, Colombia defeated Chile 3-1 away, Uruguay drew 1-1 at home to Ecuador while Venezuela shocked hosts Paraguay 2-0.
Argentina leads the South American confederation’s Conmebol standings with 14 points from seven games, a point ahead of second-placed Colombia. Ecuador and Uruguay are third and fourth respectively.
The top four teams will automatically qualify for the 2014 World Cup in Brazil while fifth will play off for a berth against the fifth-ranked team from Asia.
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- Argentina face Paraguay in World Cup qualifier - Sep 07, 2012
- Qualifying first is not important: Messi - Sep 08, 2012
- Argentina, Ecuador win opening FIFA World Cup qualifiers - Oct 08, 2011
- Chile qualifies for World Cup, Argentina back on track - Oct 11, 2009
- Argentina tackle crucial match as they look over abyss - Oct 09, 2009
- Great chance for Higuain to surpass El Diego - Jun 28, 2010
- Messi to captain strong Argentina side in Kolkata - Aug 19, 2011
- Maradona drops Coloccini, Lavezzi from Argentina squad - May 20, 2010
- Argentina's Zanetti, Cambiasso, Gago to miss World Cup - May 12, 2010
- Uruguay announce squad for World Cup qualifiers - Aug 23, 2012
- Di Maria to miss World Cup qualifiers due to injury - Nov 08, 2011
- Forlan ends goal drought with double - Sep 03, 2012
- History collides for Argentina (Group B team profile) - May 27, 2010
- Internacional best club in Brazil - Apr 03, 2012
Tags: bayern munich, berth, carlos zambrano, claudio pizarro, confederation, conmebol, ezequiel lavezzi, football world cup, javier mascherano, lionel messi, match, ranked team, real madrid, rio de janeiro, second half, seven games, south american qualifiers, striker, world cup qualifier, xinhua