It was not a normal football story. Everything was altered by the deluge that forced the start of the game to be delayed for half an hour and that flooded the field, making it impassable in multiple sectors. Suddenly, the ball would slow down, or come out faster than usual. In that context, Argentina at times he suffered before the interesting Venezuela by Fernando Batista. However, the world champion rescued a draw that became even more valuable because his runner-up Colombia lost as a visitor to Bolivia. Thus the albiceleste continues to be the solitary leader on the way to the World Cup 2026.
Not only Lionel Scaloni suffered the absence of Emiliano Martínez (sanctioned for two dates for attacking a cameraman against Colombia) and Cristian Romero (suspended due to accumulation of warnings). They also suffered another key loss, that of Nicolás González (injured), precisely the replacement for Angel Di María, the recently retired idol of the albiceleste. And outside, too, Alexis Mac Allister, physically “touched.”
In this context, the Albiceleste coach appealed to regular replacements: Gerónimo Rulli, Nicolás Otamendi and Giovani Lo Celso. Of course, there was a substitute that was a surprise: Thiago Almada, the Brazilian Botafogo striker, an inclusion that implied a search for greater play and control than explosion. Lo Celso and Almada, plus Rodrigo De Paul and Enzo Fernández, added to Lionel Messi and Julián Alvarez, presaged an offensive intention based on the associated and neat construction. However, the flood kicked the calculations to the curb.
The game became a kind of lottery on that flooded field. You had to see how each ball hit, where each rebound landed, who slipped and who didn’t… And in that scenario, Argentina struck early, in a play with a stopped ball. Messi kicked a free kick from the left, goalkeeper Rafael Romo could not make a good clearance with his fists and the ball was served to Nicolás Otamendi to push it into the empty goal.
Rondón saved Venezuela in the second half
Argentina won at halftime without deserving it. Venezuela adapted better to the “abnormal” terrain. And he had a couple of chances to tie it. The clearest was one by Salomón Rondón that was cleared off the line by Otamendi, who had been the scorer a little while before in the other goal. There was also a masterful closing by Germán Pezzella.
An obvious fact that Almada’s test against Scaloni did not satisfy him is that he did not come out to play the second half. The coach put Gonzalo Montiel on and crowned an unprecedented situation in the albiceleste: for the first time two right backs together on the field. Nahuel Molina started playing as a midfielder on that wing. There was one more intention in that modification: to strengthen that sector where Yeferson Soteldo hurt with his daring overflows.
In any case, Argentina did not improve at the start of the second half. Venezuela pushed it against its goal. First, Enzo Fernández went to the ground and took the tie from Rondón. And after the corner, Gerónimo Rulli took a header from Yangel Herrera, drawing a sensational save, as if to confirm that he follows the line of Dibu Martínez.
Nor did Argentina with its two right backs on the field manage to control that sector. Soteldo continued to worry. And in one of his crosses, Rondón emerged with an impressive header to tie the game and certify his scoring hierarchy. There were 25 minutes left…
Scaloni moved the bench again. Inside a central defender, Leonardo Balerdi, for a creative midfielder, Lo Celso. Argentina was configured with a 5-4-1, with Messi as the only attacker and with Julián Alvarez on the left wing.
Messi had a one-on-one after a great pass from De Paul, but goalkeeper Romo blocked it. Lautaro Martínez and Leandro Paredes entered in the final ten minutes. But nothing changed. Argentina rescued a drawn tie, a point that served them well. You already know why.
TECHNICAL SHEET
1 – Venezuela: Rafael Romo; Jon Aramburu, Nahuel Ferraresi, Yordan Osorio, Alexander González; Yangel Herrera, José ‘el Brujo’ Martínez, Tomás Rincón (d.59, Jhonder Cádiz); Jefferson Savarino (d.59, Darwin Machís), Salomón Rondón, Yeferson Soteldo.
1 – Argentina: Gerónimo Rulli; Nicolás Tagliafico, Germán Pezzella, Nicolás Otamendi, Nahuel Molina; Enzo Fernández (m.85, Leandro Paredes), Giovani Lo Celso (m.68, Leonardo Balerdi), Rodrigo De Paul, Thiago Almada (m.46, Gonzalo Montiel); Lionel Messi, Julián Álvarez (m.85, Lautaro Martínez).
Goals: 0-1, Nicolás Otamendi (m. 13); 1-1, Salomón Rondón (d. 65)
Referee: Uruguayan Gustavo Tejeda cautioned José ‘El brujo’ Martínez and Germán Pezzella.
Incidents: Match of the ninth round of the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, played at the Monumental Stadium in the city of Maturín, Venezuela.
