Argentina head coach Lionel Scaloni was full of praise for his players after they triumphed over Chile in their second group match of the tournament. Meanwhile, Chile manager Ricardo Gareca believes his side are still firmly in the running for knockout qualification, Soccernet.football reports.
Argentina secured their place in the knockout stages of the Copa America with a game to spare after battling to a narrow 1-0 victory over Chile thanks to Lautaro Martinez’s late winner at the MetLife Stadium.
It looked like La Albiceleste were going to settle for a draw, having found it difficult to break down a resilient Chile side but second half substitute Martinez, who also scored from the bench in Argentina’s opener against Canada, finally broke Chile’s resolve with a sweet strike two minutes from time.
Speaking after the game, Scaloni lauded the effort of his players; “It was a well-deserved win,” he said.
“The truth is that the match was not easy and we won in the least expected moment, I would say.
“But as always the team kept believing and kept attacking even though they started to stretch a bit more in the last 10 or 12 minutes.”
He also praised the work of Chile’s Argentine coach Gareca, who took over in January, calling them “a very, very tough opponent”.
With this win, La Albiceleste now have six points at the summit of Group A and only need a draw against Peru to secure top spot. Meanwhile, La Roja must beat Canada in their final group game if they are to reach the quarterfinals, a task Gareca believes his team can accomplish.
“I think we have a chance, our chances are still intact in the last game, we’re going to give everything to have a chance of qualifying,” he said.
“It was a tough, complicated match, as you would expect. I think the guys played a great game in terms of, more than anything, trying to control Argentina.
“In the second half we loosened up more. And the goal… was something that has to do with luck because, you see, it’s a deflection off the back of an Argentina player,” he added.
“On balance Argentina had more chances than us in the end.”