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Editor in Chief Mohamed Wadie

Argentina Earns Hard Fought Victory over Brazil in Saudi Arabia


Fri 15 Nov 2019 | 09:53 PM
shawar ibrahim

Lionel Messi scored an early first-half goal which was enough for Argentina defeat their arch rivals  Brazil 1-0 in Saudi Arabia on Friday.

Brazil had the first clear opportunity when Gabriel Jesus earned a penalty, but the Manchester City forward registered the fifth missed penalty of his young career, shooting the ball wide of the post having sent the goalkeeper the wrong way.

Messi earned a penalty of his own a few minutes later when Alex Sandro tripped him in the box, although the contact appeared minimal.

Messi got up to take the kick himself and although Alisson Becker saved his initial shot, the Liverpool keeper couldn't hold on to the ball and it squirmed loose for Messi to tap home.

The Argentinians were forced to dig deep at times in the second half although they also missed chances to wrap up the match.

Argentina have now won three of the five games they have played since their semi-final exit at the Copa America.

The Argentina–Brazil rivalry is a sports rivalry between the national football teams of the two countries and their respective sets of fans. Games between the two teams, even those that are only friendly matches, are often marked by notable and sometimes controversial incidents.

This rivalry is also called the "Battle of the South Americans." FIFA have described it as the "essence of football rivalry", ESPN FC ranked it top of their list of rivalries between national sides, while CNN ranked it second on their top 10 list of international rivalries, only below the older England–Scotland football rivalry.