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Argentina vs. Paraguay, VAR audios released for penalty decisions

Argentina against Paraguay in the World Cup qualifiers had three penalty decisions, all of which were not given.

It was two possible penalties for Argentina and one for Paraguay but VAR decided against them. The first was a possible penalty against Cristian Romero as a ball was sent into the penalty area and it struck his arm.

The referee for the match, Anderson Daronco, ignored the possible penalty shout. However, it was VAR who was taking a look at it and in the end it was not given.

For Argentina, the first possible penalty that could have been given in their favor was when the ball hit Robert Rojas inside the penalty area. Alejandro Papu Gomez dribbled into the penalty area when Rojas went to ground and the ball hit his arm. However, the decision was that the arm was part of a natural movement as Rojas was falling.

There was another potential foul, this time on Nicolas Otamendi. It was Lionel Messi who took a corner kick for Argentina as Otamendi was brought down inside the penalty area. It went to VAR and they decided that it was all clean, there was no penalty.

Emiliano Martinez posts about Argentina’s 0-0 draw in World Cup qualifiers

Emiliano Martinez posted about Argentina’s 0-0 draw in the World Cup qualifiers.

Martinez made two great saves to keep Argentina from trailing. Now the undisputed starting goalkeeper for Lionel Scaloni, Martinez took to his Instagram to post about the match. He wrote something similar on his Twitter:

“Difficult pitch but we showed character and heart. We keep adding (points) and growing.”

Leandro Paredes on Argentina’s 0-0 draw vs. Paraguay in World Cup qualifiers

Leandro Paredes spoke about Argentina’s 0-0 draw vs. Paraguay in the World Cup qualifiers.

Paredes was the only midfielder who played the entire match for Argentina. Both Gio Lo Celso and Rodrigo De Paul were substituted as Paredes remained on the pitch. Speaking to TyC Sports after the match, here is what he had to say:

“It’s a weird feeling because we played a match to win the three points. We created a lot of chances but little came to us. We suffered very little except for the occasional counter attack. But we didn’t lose, that is also important.

“The pitch wasn’t in the best condition. Still, we tried. The point serves us. We missed scoring. We had a great match.”

Nicolas Tagliafico comments on Argentina’s 0-0 World Cup qualifying draw

Nicolas Tagliafico commented on Argentina’s 0-0 draw.

Tagliafico was brought on as a substitute in the second half. Marcos Acuña suffered a knock and as stated by coach Lionel Scaloni, they didn’t want to take any chances. Tagliafico was substituted on and played a good match. Speaking to the media, here’s what he had to say:

“It was a positive match, despite not getting the result we wanted. The pitch wasn’t in the best conditions but that’s not an excuse. The deficit today was not being able to score. It has been a long time that we haven’t played with fans and that euphoria and adreline is very good.

“We played very good football at times. Maybe we needed to have more control of the match. At times, Paraguay was able to counter attack and that created danger for us. That is one of the things that we can improve: to be better defensively when attacking.

“World Cup qualifying matches are always like this, against this opponent too. They are very difficult matches, stuck, they fight a lot, they try to fight. We got to their goal often, today we couldn’t score but we are on the right track. This is long and there are still many matches left.”

Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni comments on 0-0 draw

Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni commented on the team’s 0-0 draw.

Lionel Scaloni saw his team control the match, create chances but unable to score. It was a 0-0 draw vs. Paraguay away with the next two matches at home. Speaking at a press conference after the match, here is what he had to say:

“The first half was almost all us, the second was more equal but we were superior and dominated the match. The qualifiers are difficult and they (the players) realized the difficulty of coming to play Paraguay and the different places. I think the feeling is good and that makes us calm. We missed scoring the goal, especially in the plays where it was very clear. The important thing is the team never gave up always kept trying.

“A very difficult opponent, they changed their way of playing for our way of attacking. The opponents play differently, they want to win against Argentina and you have to get used to that continuing to happen.

“We looked with a lot of passes, we created a lot of chances. Then we went with more speed because the game was very open. In football, sometimes you are superior but the result doesn’t go in your favor.

“We knew how Paraguay would play, always pressuring. I think the team was able to get through that pressure and create clear goal scoring chances. Paraguay is uncomfortable for everyone, not just Argentina. We knew they were going to be a difficult rival. We have to play in two days and it’s important that all the players are fresh and that everyone who enters can contribute.”

Scaloni spoke about Marcos Acuña getting substituted off:

“Let’s hope that Acuña’s situation is nothing. He had a knock and we preferred not to risk it. We have to manage their minutes.”

In regards to selecting Nahuel Molina ahead of Gonzalo Montiel:

“I have been saying it often. Nahuel gives us depth, speed. Gonzalo is fine but we preferred for him to rest this match. We have to keep him fresh.

“Here, we have to have everyone well. It’s very difficult coming to play these matches. In two days, we have another match. We fully trust him. We hope Gonzalo can play the next match.”

Regarding Joaquin Correa and Lautaro Martinez:

“The team had goal scoring chances. They couldn’t score. Lautaro has always been our striker. Joaquin’s match made me happy. He played a good match, he had chances, created a lot of danger. He was missing that goal but it makes us happy that he played like this.”