Key events
There’s a VAR check, goodness knows what for though.
Oh. My. Goodness. Ecuador took a quick free-kick on the right, then Yeboah curled a fine cross into the middle. Rodriguez got across Otamendi and flicked a fantastic header that beat Martinez and bounced into the far corner.
GOAL! Argentina 1-1 Ecuador (Yeboah 90+2)
Ecuador have equalised and this quarter-final is going to penalties!
90+1 min There will be five minutes of added time.
90 min Jordy Caicedo shoots indulgently wide from a very tight angle on the left side of the area. He had to cross that, surely.
88 min It feels like neither team has put five passes together in the last 15 or 20 minutes. I guess that constitutes good game management from Argentina, but it has been a strange spectacle.
87 min: Ecuador substitution Jordy Caicedo comes on for Alan Franco. It’s now or never for Ecuador.
86 min “I’m not sure why exactly,” begins Peter Oh, “but when Cristian Romero takes a full-throttle shot right in the family jewels and writhes on the ground in agony, I don’t feel as much sympathy for him as I do for other players.”
85 min It’s been a stop-start second half, which suits Argentina just fine. Result > performance.
83 min Romero stayed down after being hit by that shot from Mena. At first I thought he was wasting time, but the free-kick hit him in a delicate place.
82 min Mena’s free-kick hits the wall.
81 min Yeboah makes an instant impact, turning Otamendi smartly and charging past Tagliafico, who brings him down and is booked. Ecuador have a free-kick 25 yards from goal…
80 min: Ecuador substitutions John Yeboah and Angel Mena replace Carlos Gruezo and Enner Valencia. All these substitutions aren’t helping Ecuador gain any momentum.
78 min: Argentina substitutions Giovani Lo Celso and Nicolas Otamendi replace Enzo Fernandez and Lisandro Martinez.
77 min Gonzalez is booked for a foul on Preciado.
76 min: Ecuador substitutions Alan Minda and Kevin Rodriguez replace Kendry Paez and Jeremy Sarmiento. I’m surprised Sarmiento has come off; he’s been Ecuador’s biggest threat.
75 min Sarmiento, who has had a fine game, slithers past three players on the left. When the move breaks down, Caicedo is booked for a foul on De Paul. Just before that, Preciado went down holding his face after being caught by a flailing elbow from Gonzalez.
Caicedo will miss the semi-final if Ecuador get there.
73 min Messi’s free-kick leads to a mini-scramble in the Ecuador area, with a couple of shots blocked.
Ecuador break and Preciado’s deep cross is headed back across goal to Valencia, who is about to shoot from close range when an Argentina defender pokes the ball away. Ecuador are still in this.
71 min Argentina are doing just enough, but it hasn’t been a convincing performance at all. I doubt they’ll care.
69 min Hincapie rolls around in pain after being caught by Molina. I think Molina won the ball cleanly and then collided with Hincapie in his follow through.
68 min De Paul’s angled cross is missed by a defender and reaches Messi, who chests the ball down and swishes a right-foot shot that is too close to Dominguez.
65 min: Argentina substitution Julian Alvarez replaces Lautaro Martinez, who couldn’t add to his four goals. He didn’t get the greatest service.
64 min “That foul on Caicedo,” says Joe Pearson. “Forget it, Jake. It’s Conmebol.”
It looked like something from English football in the 1980s.
63 min For a second it seemed the penalty would be retaken because Martinez was off his line. Replays showed he was fine, so Argentina are officially out of jail.
Valencia hits the post!
62 min Oh dear lord. He swaggered up nonchalantly, sent Martinez the wrong way – and then rolled the ball slowly against the left-hand post. Hincapie rattled the rebound into the side netting from a tight angle.
61 min Emi Martinez is acting up as usual, and why not. De Paul is still pleading his case but there’s no suggestion the decision will be overturned.
It was another left-wing corner, headed on at the near post, and it hit the hand of De Paul. Hmm, that looks a bit harsh: his arms looked pretty close to his body and he was only a couple of yards away from the player who flicked it on.
60 min: Penalty to Ecuador! This time the handball has been given!
56 min Romero, flustered by the presence of Valencia, concedes a needless corner. It’s flicked on and hits the arm of Fernandez, which leads to a VAR check for a possible penalty. Nothing to see, Fernandez’s arm was close enough to his body to satisfy the VAR folk. It wasn’t right by his side though.
55 min A hopeful shot on the turn from Lautaro Martinez dribbles wide.
54 min Caicedo is back on his feet. He’s limping but looks like he’s okay.
53 min Caicedo is still down. That was a nasty blow, and there are one or two VAR officials who would recommend a red card for Romero. Enner Valencia was making a VAR signal to the referee.
51 min Romero clears the ball and then studs Caicedo in the side of the leg in his follow through. With most players you’d assume it was an accident…
50 min A very slow start to the second half. Ecuador are having quite a lot of the ball, though it’s all in harmless areas for now.
48 min Messi has been relatively quiet, possibly because of the leg injury he has been managing, though he still played a gorgeous pass to Enzo Fernandez that ultimately led to the goal.
47 min “Since it is Independence Day here, and amateurs have way too much access to ordinance, the entire first half has been punctuated with bangs and flashes,” says Joe Pearson. “I mean the match has been OK, but c’mon.”
46 min Ecuador get the second half under way. No changes on either side.
Half-time reading
Half time: Argentina 1-0 Ecuador
The scoreline is no surprise, but it doesn’t tell the full story of an intriguing first half. Ecuador were the better team for much of it, with Emi Martinez making a fine save from Jeremy Sarmiento early on. Another Martinez, Manchester United’s Lisandro, headed Argentina in front from a well-worked corner in the 35th minute.
45 min “Scaloni needs to throw Lucas Martínez on so that Argentina can complete their hat-trick of goals by L’s Martínez,” says Kári Tulinius.
44 min Argentina have been much better since the goal, passing the ball with greater speed and purpose. De Paul is gratuitously shoved over from behind by Valencia, who has been booked and needs to be careful. He’s already been sent off once in this tournament.
