3 things we learned from Argentina’s 1-1 draw with Brazil

The storm-delayed match between Argentina and Brazil certainly didn’t disappoint for drama, with the South American arch-rivals going blow for blow with a goal in each half. We saw gorgeous passes, frustrating misses, great defending, and physical play aplenty -- all hallmarks of the Argentina-Brazil rivalry, right down to the late red card. Neither side will be terribly happy with the 1-1 draw, but in the end it was probably a fair result, and one that will make the next few rounds of qualifying a little more meaningful as these teams try to catch up to the leaders.

Argentina came flying out of the gates to put pressure on Brazil’s defense, penetrating the penalty area almost at will, but struggled mightily to connect with that final ball to create true attacking danger in front of goal. The opening minutes saw three absolutely golden chances when Gonzalo Higuain had slipped João Miranda’s marking to get free with Alisson at his mercy in goal, but the chances were left begging because of the poor service he was provided.

Those early struggles allowed Brazil to get into the match and start getting forward, but they couldn’t generate enough of a sustained threat to really keep Argentina at bay. In fact, Brazil struggled badly to get Neymar involved, who was certainly very willing with the runs and passes he was trying to make, but was clearly on a different page compared to most of his teammates.

That helped create the chance that lead to Argentina’s opening goal, with a strong defensive effort from Nicolas Otamendi springing a counter attack, with Gonzalo Higuain punishing poor positioning from David Luiz, driving a hard pass through where the defender should have been and to the feet of Ezequiel Lavezzi, who finished easily past Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson.

Argentina controlled the rest of the first half, but couldn’t get the second goal they needed -- a fact which cost them badly when Brazil came out swinging in the second half and scored just before the hour mark, after substitute Douglas Costa got free to try to head in a cross. His effort went off the bar, but the rebound fell to Lucas Lima, who made no mistakes as he lashed his finish by a helpless Sergio Romero.

After the match went level, the tone of the proceedings got decidedly more aggressive, with lots of “accidental” high elbows, “unintentional” heel clips, and a number of other “unfortunate” incidents. This is a very old and emotional rivalry, and matches like this tend to supercharge the ill feelings between the two sides. That does not, however, forgive the play of David Luiz late on in the match, who was rightfully sent off after a pair of incredibly rash fouls only a minute apart from each other. Doing that late in a tied match is bad enough, but in a World Cup qualifier that both teams badly need to win, it’s unforgivable.

The result doesn’t really help either team -- Argentina now have just two points through three qualifying matches, while Brazil only have four. That leaves both teams well off the pace in South America so far and needing to start piling up wins soon before the pressure really starts to mount. Argentina will be the happier team in terms of the quality of their performance, but the end result of a draw is definitely not what they were hoping for.

Goals: Lavezzi (34’)

Goals: Lucas (58’)

While long an excellent player at club level, over the last few years Higuain has struggled mightily seemingly every match he’s played for Argentina. That’s been especially noticeable in big matches, most notably in the World Cup and Copa America finals, when he missed numerous golden chances to score, and skied his penalty in the shootout of the Copa final.

In this match, though, he was excellent. Higuain’s form with Napoli has been top class this season, and he carried that over to Argentina, playing aggressively and incisively up top, leaving Miranda spinning around in his wake time and time again all match long. His play to set up Lavezzi’s opener was wonderful, both in the run to create space for himself to send the ball in and the pass he executed.

Speaking of that opening goal, there’s a so-far understated factor involved in it. A few minutes before, Brazil keeper Alisson appeared to injure his right wrist when he landed heavily after punching a ball clear. Trainers had to take his glove off and tape the wrist heavily before he was comfortable continuing, but he was clearly tentative after that, especially when he needed to go low to his right. Especially on Lavezzi’s goal, he didn’t go down to try to block it as quickly or aggressively as he had earlier in the match -- maybe he could have saved it if he did, maybe not, but that caution and fear of further injury definitely cost Brazil a chance at keeping the match scoreless.

Rule of thumb: if your goalkeeper hurts his wrist -- a joint that is vital for how keepers operate -- don’t keep them in the match. Ever.

When Lucas was first included as a starter in the Brazil national team recently, the reaction of many observers around the world was “who?” The Santos attacking midfielder is relatively unheralded compared to the likes of Neymar and Willian and Kaka, but that doesn’t mean that he’s not wonderfully talented. His calm presence on the ball and instinctual knowledge for where he needs to be in a given moment make him incredibly valuable in a team like Brazil’s, because he can serve as an excellent facilitator of their star-driven side. Those instincts were on show for his goal, when he popped up in the exact right place with the exact right finish to hammer home a rebound off the crossbar.