Alexis Mac Allister, Julian Alvarez and Paulo Dybala found the net as Argentina tightened their grip on South America's 2026 World Cup qualifiers with a commanding 3-0 victory over Chile on Thursday.
Liverpool’s Mac Allister broke the deadlock three minutes into the second half with a precise low finish at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires against a stubborn Chilean defense.
Julian Alvarez, the former Manchester City forward, doubled the lead in the 84th minute with a powerful strike from distance, before substitute Dybala sealed the win with a stoppage-time goal.
The reigning world champions delivered another clinical performance as they edge closer to securing their spot at the 2026 finals in the U.S., Mexico and Canada.
Lionel Scaloni’s team leads South America’s 10-team round-robin qualifying table by five points after seven games.
The top six teams in the final standings qualify automatically for the 2026 finals in North America, with the seventh-placed team advancing to a playoff.
Argentina, who also beat Chile 1-0 on their way to clinching back-to-back Copa America titles earlier this year, entered Thursday’s game missing injured captain Lionel Messi and veteran winger Angel Di Maria, who retired from international football after the Copa America triumph in July.
Di Maria was honored by his former teammates in a pregame ceremony before taking his place in the stands to watch the world champions secure their sixth win from seven qualifying games.
Despite the absence of Messi and Di Maria, Argentina showed plenty of creativity in attack, with Lautaro Martinez and Atletico Madrid’s Alvarez causing problems for the Chile defense.
Argentina controlled the midfield, with Mac Allister lining up alongside Rodrigo De Paul and Enzo Fernandez.
After a cagey first half, the breakthrough came in the 48th minute when Alvarez whipped in a low cross from the right. Martinez cleverly dummied, allowing the ball to roll through to Mac Allister, who guided an accurate shot into the bottom corner.
Bolivia thrash Venezuela
In Thursday’s other qualifier, Bolivia reignited its campaign with a 4-0 drubbing of Venezuela in a game played more than 4,000 meters (13,100 feet) above sea level.
Goals from Ramiro Vaca, Carmelo Algaranaz, Miguel Terceros, and Enzo Monteiro handed Bolivia only its second win of qualifying, lifting the team into seventh place in the standings.
The result vindicated Bolivia’s decision to play Thursday’s game in El Alto — Spanish for "The Heights" — rather than at its usual home venue in neighboring La Paz, which is 3,600 meters above sea level.
The thin air of El Alto left Venezuela's players struggling for energy against a Bolivian team aiming to qualify for its first World Cup since reaching the 1994 finals in the United States.
Despite his team’s heavy loss, Venezuela coach Fernando Batista refused to dwell on the altitude issue after the game.
"Out of 10 questions, eight are about altitude," Batista said. "You won’t hear anything from me about it."
The pick of Bolivia’s goals came from Vaca after just 13 minutes. The 25-year-old midfielder gathered the ball around 30 yards from goal, cut in from the left, and unleashed a ferocious shot that flew into the top corner.
Venezuela, the only team from South America never to have qualified for a World Cup, remains well-placed to reach the finals despite Thursday’s loss.
The "Vinotinto" is fourth in the standings with nine points from seven games, trailing Argentina, Uruguay, and Colombia.
Venezuela hosts Uruguay next Tuesday in its eighth qualifying game.
South America’s qualifiers continue on Friday, with second-placed Uruguay hosting Paraguay in Montevideo, while struggling Brazil, 11 points adrift of leaders Argentina in sixth, faces Ecuador in Curitiba.
Third-placed Colombia, meanwhile, travels to Lima to face bottom-of-the-table Peru.