56′ It’s Argentina’s turn to keep possession now and they’re trying to open up space in behind by switching it from left to right. Di Maria swings it out to Correa, only for Mena to step in and intercept it.
54′ Chile’s patient build-up almost pays off as Pulgar slides it out to Meneses on the left. He has space to run into and turns away from Foyth, only for De Paul to get across and break up the attack.
52′ Romero catches Vargas in the head with his elbow when he goes to head the ball and is shown a yellow card for the challenge.
50′ Sanchez isn’t closed down by the Argentina defenders and he threads a great throughball down the left for Meneses to chase. He just manages to keep it in play at the byline, but can’t pick out a team-mate in the middle.
48′ Argentina made a bright start to the second half, but De Paul dawdles on the ball and Meneses is quickly in to nick it off him. He plays in Mena ahead of him on the left, but he pushes past Foyth and gives away a free-kick.
46′ Chile get us back underway for the second half!
46′ Ocampos is also making way, with Correa on in his place.
L. Martínez
L. Martínez
46′ There’s a double change for Argentina at the start of the second half, with Lucas Martinez making way first for Lisandro Martinez.
There haven’t been too many clear cut chances so far, but both sides have had moments when they’ve looked dangerous going forward. The managers will be hoping they can cut the sloppiness out of the game though as it’s stopped both teams from creating opportunities.
It’s level at the break at 1-1 between Argentina and Chile. Messi broke the deadlock from the penalty spot, nestling it in the bottom corner after Lautaro Martinez was clumsily brought down and VAR awarded it. Sanchez equalised at the other end after he was left unmarked at a free-kick and tapped in from close range. Messi also saved a free-kick well saved, while Vargas drilled a shot wide for Chile.
45′ + 3′ HALF-TIME: ARGENTINA 1-1 CHILE.
45′ + 1′ GOOD SAVE! Messi hits the free-kick on the edge of the D, curling his effort up and over the wall towards the top-right corner. Bravo watches it all the way though and pushes it away with a strong hand on the stretch.
45′ Messi makes another good weaving run through the middle and in the end, Pulgar pushes him off the ball, but Argentina have a free-kick right on the edge of the D that Messi is standing over.
43′ Lucas Martinez catches Sanchez in the face during an aerial challenge and has his name taken by the referee.
42′ Seconds ago, Vargas was limping into the box, but when Emiliano Martinez punches the corner away, he’s waiting on the edge of the area to volley it back towards goal. It’s a poor hit though and a comfortable catch for the goalkeeper.
40′ Sanchez does well to hold off two Argentina defenders before turning and playing a good throughball down the middle. Vargas slips, but Meneses chases it down, forcing Romero to put it out for a corner.
38′ Argentina make quick work of getting into Chile’s box after the restart and Di Maria lifts the ball over the top to pick out De Paul at the far post. He cuts inside before trying to curl one over the keeper, but it flies high over the bar.
36′ Medel peels off the back of his defender at the far post and slides in to keep the attack alive and pick out Sanchez in the middle.
36′ CHILE EQUALISE! It’s a great free-kick from Aranguiz on the right that curls over everyone to Medel at the far post. He puts it back into a good area and Sanchez is unmarked and left with a simple tap-in in the middle. VAR has a long look at it, but the goal will stand! 1-1!
35′ Chile are starting to up the pressure on Argentina again now as Mena touches it into Meneses again. He’s a long way out and has his back to goal but eventually wins a free-kick after Foyth smothers him.
33′ CHANCE! Lautaro Martinez cuts inside from the left and decides to have a shot from range, but it’s blocked by Isla. The ball rebounds back out to De Paul, who drills it first time, but it rolls wide of the far post.
32′ Meneses finds himself in a bit of space down the left and he cuts inside before laying the ball off to Vargas. He peels off the back of his defender, but Lucas Martinez recovers well to intercept it.
30′ Argentina are switching the ball from left to right in an attempt to open up Chile’s defence and De Paul finally manages to get into a pocket of space through the middle. He drills a shot on goal, only to see it blocked by Medel on the edge of the box.
28′ Maripan spots Mena in space down the right and switches play out to him. He drives forward before trying to play a one-two with Meneses, but Foyth is too strong for him and Chile’s attack fizzles out.
26′ Chile don’t look as comfortable in possession since the goal went in and they’re not pushing forward with as much intent. Argentina aren’t pressing them high, but the visitors just can’t get out of their own half at the moment.
24′ MESSI SCORES! It’s a confident run up from the captain as he nestles his spot-kick into the bottom-right corner. Bravo dives the wrong way and Argentina lead 1-0!
23′ PENALTY TO ARGENTINA! After Lautaro Martinez received his treatment, the referee goes over to the monitor to have a look at the incident himself. After seeing it from every angle, he goes back onto the pitch and points to the spot.
21′ Lautaro Martinez has stayed down in the box after Maripan clumsily caught him in his attempts to win the ball. The medical team are on to give him some attention and he’s quickly back to his feet all the while making his case to the referee about getting a penalty.
19′ It’s better from Argentina now as they keep Chile penned back in their own half, but their passing is still sloppy in the final third. Messi tries to float it into Lautaro Martinez at the far post, but there’s too much on it and he can’t keep it in play.
17′ It looks like Bravo gets away with his scuffed clearance as Aranguiz meets it, but a heavy touch gifts the ball to Messi. He plays it out to Ocampos on the right, who then pulls it back on the edge of the box, but it’s cut out by Medel.
15′ CLOSE! Ocampos slides in to try and stop Aranguiz’s pass from getting through to Vargas, but his touch actually helps it into the forward’s path. He takes the shot first time from distance and drills it just wide of the far post.
14′ Argentina are struggling to get out of their own half at the moment, and their sloppy passing is making it easy for Chile. Di Maria loses out this time and the visitors patiently play out from the back for their attack.
12′ Messi is caught on the ball and Mena slips it through to Sanchez, who skips past Paredes before driving through midfield. He unselfishly tries to tee up Vargas to his right, but Romero is there to cut it out again for Argentina.
10′ It’s a poor corner from Pulgar, but Chile manage to keep hold of the ball and stop Argentina from breaking on the counter. Isla curls a pass forward to try and get Vargas in on goal, but Romero is in quickly to intercept it.
8′ Chile look the brighter side at the moment and are forcing Argentina’s midfield into making mistakes. Meneses is quickly in to win it off Ocampos, but his throughball into Sanchez is put out for a corner by Foyth.
6′ Medel’s quick interception breaks up an Argentina attack and he knocks it back to Bravo, who gets his head up and spots Vargas making a run down the right. He goes long, trying to pick him out but gives it straight to Emiliano Martinez.
4′ Sanchez has stayed down after landing awkwardly under pressure from Romero and he looks to be in a bit of pain. He’s holding his thigh, but he’s back on his feet without needing any treatment.
2′ Galdames has picked up a very early booking after swiping out Tagliafico’s legs out from behind him and he’s going to have to go careful here.
1′ Lautaro Martinez gets the game underway for Argentina!
The teams are out on the pitch now, with kick-off just moments away.
The last two times that Chile beat Argentina were on penalties during the Copa America in 2015 and 2016, but they haven’t beaten the hosts in a competitive match in 90 minutes since a World Cup qualifier in October 2008 (1-0).
Martin Lasarte makes seven changes to the side that started their last friendly against Bolivia in March. He welcomes back top-scorer Sanchez in support of Vargas. Bravo, Medel, Meneses and Galdames retain their places from that game.
Scaloni names a similar team to the one that started against Peru in Argentina’s last game in November, making just five changes, with Emiliano Martinez, Foyth, Romero, Di Maria and Ocampos coming into the side.
CHILE SUBS: Enzo Roco, Francisco Sierralta, Cesar Pinares, Gabriel Arias, Fabian Orellana, Jean Beausejour, Cladio Baeza, Tomas Alarcon, Luis Antonio Jimenez, Carlos Palacios, Ben Brereton, Gabriel Castellon.
CHILE STARTING XI (4-3-3): Claudio Bravo; Mauricio Isla, Gary Medel, Guillermo Maripan, Eugenio Mena; Pablo Galdames, Erick Pulgar, Charles Aranguiz; Jean Meneses, Eduardo Vargas, Alexis Sanchez.
ARGENTINA SUBS: Agustin Marchesin, German Pezzella, Marcos Acuna, Julian Alvarez, Nahuel Molina, Alejandro Dario Gomez, Nicolas Dominguez, Guido Rodriguez, Lisandro Martinez, Exequiel Palacios, Joaquin Correa, Juan Musso.
ARGENTINA STARTING XI (3-4-2-1): Emiliano Martinez; Lucas Martinez, Juan Foyth, Cristian Romero; Angel Di Maria, Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo De Paul, Nicolas Tagliafico; Lionel Messi, Lucas Ocampos; Lautaro Martinez.
Argentina are playing for the first time since November after the March qualifiers were cancelled. They’re unbeaten in their four qualifiers so far (W3 D1), only dropping points against Paraguay, but goals have been hard to come by for Lionel Scaloni’s team in the campaign so far. They face a Chile side that have struggled in their qualifiers so far, winning only one of their four games (D1 L2), with a few late goals costing them important points.
Hello and welcome to live coverage of the World Cup qualifier between Argentina and Chile at the Estadio Unico Madre de Ciudades!
58′ Again, Messi sets Argentina on the counter after latching onto Pulgar’s throw-in, but more sloppy play lets the hosts down. Foyth runs at Mena only to lose the ball again.