Peru vs Argentina, FIFA World Cup qualifier HIGHLIGHTS: Messi scores brace as Argentina beats Peru

That is it. Argentina beats Peru 2-0, thanks to Messi’s brace. La Albieceleste continue their domination in the qualifiers as they win four on the trot to lead the charts

South American standings:

And that’s another interruption of play as a fan invades the pitch to get a glimpse of Messi up close! He is being escorted outside the pitch by the security personnels

Acuna and Advincula fight for possession on the left flank and a fight breaks out. Almost half of both the squads are involved before Lautaro came to intervene. Luckily for both the sides, there are no bookings

FOUR added minutes

Corner for Peru. Yotun sends in a curling high ball inside the box. Tapia gets to it ahead of anyone and tries to head it in but the ball goes agonisingly close to the crossbar

Into the final minutes of the game and it looks like it will end in Argentina’s favour. They have been clinical throughout and are all set to extend their 12-match unbeaten streak

THREE changes from Lionel Scaloni

OUT: Alvarez, De Paul, Tagliafico

IN: Lautaro Martinez, Giovani Lo Celso, Marcos Acuna

Argentina concedes an identical free kick as Grimaldo is fouled by Tagliafico. Grimaldo opts to go short as he finds Advincula with a pass and gets it back immediately. Advincula then sends in a curling cross but it is cleared

Messi takes the free kick and sends one into the far corner but there’s no one to recieve it. Cleared eventually

Advincula is booked for a foul on Enzo in the final third on the left lane. Looked like he had a very faint touch on the Argentine. And rightly so, Peru players protest against the card but the decision stays

A long ball came towards Nico Gonzalez near the box. As he tried to take control, Tapia came up with a challenge but finds Gonzalez’s boot. The Argentine midfielder is down, wincing in pain. The medical team rushes in. Gonzalez is back on his feet in no time

OUT: Tellez IN: Sergio Pena

CHANCE! Nico Gonzalez, inside the box, sent one towards Messi who shoots from close quarters but sees his shot saved by Gallese. Messi tops it up with a foul on Tapia

A counter finally from Peru. Reyna plays a through ball to Grimaldo on the right. He takes it to the final third but three defenders press him to take posession away

Messi bosses around the midfield before putting the ball towards Pezzella on the right. The latter tries to cross it inside the box but it is cleared away

ARGENTINA MAKES IT THREE AND IT’S A HAT-TRICK FOR LEO! The Peruvians are surrounding the referee, saying it was an offisde. VAR intervenes. AND THE GOAL IS RULED OFFSIDE!

Tellez from the left lane gives the ball away only to get it back at the edge of the box. He takes a couple of steps to his right before trying his luck at the goal but he fails to keep it on target

Trauco sends a lofted long ball inside the box, directed towards Carillo but a timely header from Tagliafico keeps him at bay

Superb attack from Argentina. Enzo puts it to De Paul near the box, who in turn finds Alvarez. The ball eventually goes to Nico Gonzalez, who is deep inside the box and he tries to finish from an awkward angle but it is saved by Gallese

OUT: Romero IN: Pezzella

The ball gets rolling as the final 45 minutes begin.

FOUR changes for Peru:

OUT: Guerrero, Loyola, Santamaria, Polo

IN: Reyna, Trauco, Tapia, Grimaldo

And that’s the end of the first 45 minutes. Two goals from Messi put Argentina in a commanding position going into the break. Peru will need a lot of firepower and a tinge of luck going its way to restore parity, let alone take lead.

Three added minutes

Yotun gets booked for his rash challenge on Mac Allister

ANOTHER GOAL FOR ARGENTINA AND IT’S MESSI YET AGAIN! THE MAN IS UNSTOPPABLE! Enzo from the left sent it in towards Alvarez, who unselfishly leaves the ball untouched for Messi to come in and smack it to the bottom left corner

Tellez gets a long ball from the other half and makes a run towards the left side of the box, skipping past two defenders. Romero chases him and comes out on top after pressuring Tellez into giving away possession

Guerrero makes an incredible run and was poised to enter the box but Romero came out of nowhere to stop him in his tracks. Shouts for a foul but the referee thinks otherwise. Guerrero struggles in pain for a bit but shrugs it off pretty quickly

OUT: Montiel IN: Lucas Martinez Querta

ARGENTINA IN FRONT AND IT IS NONE OTHER THAN THE CAPTAIN! MESSI SLOTS IT TO THE RIGHT TOP CORNER TO PROVIDE THE LEAD! Superb counter attacking football from Enzo, who took it from the halfway line, all the way near the box before finding Tagliafico on the left. He sent it in towards Messi inside, who slotted it home past Gallese

Romero gives possession away inside their own half. Guerrero gets ball control and tries to go for glory from a long way out. Much to his dismay, the ball goes brushing past the crossbar. Would’ve been a worldie if he managed to keep it just a couple of inches below

De Paul to Mac Allister near the edge of the box, Yotun cuts him off to clear it. Huge appeal for a foul from the Argentinians but the referee is unmoved

Enzo finds Mac Allister on the left. The latter finds Messi inside the box, he tries to turn around and finish but two defenders converge into him, forcing him to play the ball outside the box towards De Paul. Before he could get to the ball, Abram clears it

Dep Paul sends it inside the box towards Alvarez, but there are just too many white outfits marking him, he manages to squeeze it to Gonzalez but the ball is cleared before anything happens

The ball comes towards Tellez, who is marked by just Montiel. The Peruvian skips past the Argentine but the latter falls down, tripping Tellez. The referee calls a foul against Peru as he felt Tellez had a contact with Montiel, free kick for Argentina

Advincula makes a crucial blog to deny Alvarez inside the box. Messi sent it to Depaul, who found Montiel in the final third on the right channel. He served it inside the box for Alvarez, who attempted to shoot but was blocked by Advincula

Another free kick for Peru. Tellez sends the ball inside the box, Guerrero tries to finish on the volley but Martinez is up for it, punches it away before the linesman raised his flag, faint offside from the Peru forward

Dangerous attack from Argentina as they transition from one box to another in a span of seconds. Enzo puts it to Messi in the middle but the latter gets intercepted near the box

CHANCE! A Peru freekick came inside the box, Otamendi’s clearance is sub-par as Polo gets to the ball and tried to chip it in past Martinez but failed to keep it on target. VAR check being done for a potential handball, the replay shows the ball hitting Tagliafico’s left hand but the referee decides against a penalty as he felt that that was reactionary and not intentional

Free kick for Argentina and it is in a very dangerous position, thanks to Loyola’s mindless tackle on Messi near the box. Messi will take the kick and this could be the breakthrough that Argentina was looking for! He sends in a curler but it fails to test Gallese as he golves the ball pretty easily

Quick counter from Peru as Guerrero finds Carrillo on the right channel. The latter, marked by two defenders, decides to switch lanes and gives the ball to Cartagena on the left, who takes it to the final third but gets dispossesed

Messi gets the ball at the edge of the box and finds Gonzalez on the left but Advincula runs from behind to clear the ball away

Dep Paul is pressured to give up ball possession and Peru starts an attack. Carrillo and Guerrero advance near the box before Otamendi makes a crucial interception

Gonzalez puts it forth to Messi and he tries his luck from a long way out with a tricky low-kept shot but the ball goes brushing past the post

Free kick for Argentina as Alvarez is fouled. Messi takes the kick, he serves it inside the box but is headed away by the defense

Acceleration from Argentina as Nico Gonzalez and Messi team up in the midfield to take the ball inside the opposition’s half. The Argentina skipper plays a through ball to find Enzo on the left flank but before he could take it further, he is intercepted

Argentina gets the ball rolling and will start left to right. Messi gets his first touch of the match

Just under 10 minutes to go for the match. The players have lined up inside the tunnel with Peru players sporting whites while Messi and Co. will be seen in purple.

It is now time for national anthems. Argentina’s anthem plays first followed by the home side’s in front of a sellout crowd. Intense scenes at the Estadio Nacional di Lima

On the other part of South America, Uruguay is leading 1-0 against Brazil, with Neymar suffering yet another injury setback. Catch all the live action by clicking the link below:

Uruguay vs Brazil Highlights, World Cup Qualifier: Nunez, De La Cruz take URU to 2-0 win over BRA; Neymar off injured

URU vs BRA, Highlights: Sportstar’s updates from the South American World Cup Qualifier between Uruguay and Brazil at Montevideo.

Argentina has not lost to Peru in the last 10 years, the closest that Peru has gotten is when it managed to draw 2-2 in the South American qualifiers

ARG 1-0 PER - 2021

ARG 2-0 PER - 2020

PER 0-0 ARG - 2017

ARG 2-2 PER - 2016

ARG 3-1 PER - 2013

Argentina: E Martinez; Molina, Romero, Otamendi, Tagliafico; De Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister; Messi, L Martinez, Alvarez

Peru: Gallese; Corzo, Zambrano, Abram, Trauco; Aquino, Yotun; Advincula, Carrillo, Polo; Guerrero

Argentina: W-W-W

Peru: D-L-L

The FIFA World Cup qualifiers between Peru and Argentina can be streamed live on Fancode app/website. The match will not be telecast live in India