Ezequiel Lavezzi rescues point for Argentina after another dismal display against Bolivia.
Argentina once again demonstrated that they are playing well below their potential, after being held to a frustrating 1-1 draw by Bolivia at the Monumental stadium of Buenos Aires in Round 3 of the South American qualifiers for Brazil 2014.
The result was identical to that of the inaugurating match of the 2011 Copa America last July, which also ended in a frustrating draw for Argentina, even if they also came into the match as the overwhelming favourites.
As had been expected, Bolivia set out to play with ten players behind the ball and their plan worked perfectly in the first half, as not even World Player of the Year, Lionel Messi, could break through their rock-solid defense.
A header from Nicolas Burdisso was Argentina's only clear-cut opportunity to open the scoring, before Ecuadorian referee Carlos Vera committed a big mistake in the 21st minute, when he disallowed what seemed to be a legitimate goal from Gonzalo Higuain. Vera signalled a free-kick for Argentina for an earlier foul, not allowing them to play the advantage.
Despite the setback, Argentina continued to dominate their opponents and created two opportunities to score, first a Messi shot was saved by Bolivia goalkeeper Carlos Arias and then a Javier Pastore effort struck the woodwork.
After the break, Argentina continued to press, however, to their disbelief Martins Moreno put the visitors ahead in the 55th minute when he took advantage of a huge defensive error from Martin Demichelis, to fire the ball past Sergio Romero.
The goal meant Argentina had no option but to push their entire side forward, and within four minutes from conceding the goal they were back on level terms. Napoli striker Ezequiel Lavezzi beat Arias with a well-placed shot from the edge of the area, which incidentally was his first touch after entering the field as a substitute.
Inspired by the equaliser, Argentina went in search of the winner, however, they lacked the necessary team-work to break through for a second time. The whole team played as individuals, especially a greedy Lionel Messi, who instead of passing to his team-mates, opted to play on his own.
Argentina created a few good opportunities to win the game late on but they failed to take advantage of them, and had no choice but to settle for a disappointing point. Next week Argentina will have a chance to redeem themselves when they take on Colombia in Round 4 of the South American World Cup qualifiers.
The result was identical to that of the inaugurating match of the 2011 Copa America last July, which also ended in a frustrating draw for Argentina, even if they also came into the match as the overwhelming favourites.
As had been expected, Bolivia set out to play with ten players behind the ball and their plan worked perfectly in the first half, as not even World Player of the Year, Lionel Messi, could break through their rock-solid defense.
A header from Nicolas Burdisso was Argentina's only clear-cut opportunity to open the scoring, before Ecuadorian referee Carlos Vera committed a big mistake in the 21st minute, when he disallowed what seemed to be a legitimate goal from Gonzalo Higuain. Vera signalled a free-kick for Argentina for an earlier foul, not allowing them to play the advantage.
Despite the setback, Argentina continued to dominate their opponents and created two opportunities to score, first a Messi shot was saved by Bolivia goalkeeper Carlos Arias and then a Javier Pastore effort struck the woodwork.
After the break, Argentina continued to press, however, to their disbelief Martins Moreno put the visitors ahead in the 55th minute when he took advantage of a huge defensive error from Martin Demichelis, to fire the ball past Sergio Romero.
The goal meant Argentina had no option but to push their entire side forward, and within four minutes from conceding the goal they were back on level terms. Napoli striker Ezequiel Lavezzi beat Arias with a well-placed shot from the edge of the area, which incidentally was his first touch after entering the field as a substitute.
Inspired by the equaliser, Argentina went in search of the winner, however, they lacked the necessary team-work to break through for a second time. The whole team played as individuals, especially a greedy Lionel Messi, who instead of passing to his team-mates, opted to play on his own.
Argentina created a few good opportunities to win the game late on but they failed to take advantage of them, and had no choice but to settle for a disappointing point. Next week Argentina will have a chance to redeem themselves when they take on Colombia in Round 4 of the South American World Cup qualifiers.
