Julian Álvarez’s first-half strike was enough for the defending FIFA World Cup champions, Argentina, to extend their unbeaten head-to-head record against Chile to eight matches (W6, D2), after beating La Roja 1-0 at the Estadio Nacional Julio Martínez Prádanos.

Having secured their spot at the 2026 FIFA World Cup finals by beating Brazil in March, manager Lionel Scaloni fielded an experimental XI, with returning stars Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martínez named among the substitutes.

With Martínez and Messi absent, Álvarez was tasked with leading the line, and it took the Atlético Madrid player just 16 minutes to make his mark. Set up by Thiago Almada’s defence-splitting pass, Alvarez cheekily dinked the ball over the onrushing Brayan Cortés to put his side in the lead.

One of Scaloni’s young players, Nico Paz, almost made it 2–0 shortly after the half-hour mark, but the star of Como's 2024/25 campaign could only fire his shot high into the stands.

After a slow start to the second half, Scaloni finally introduced Messi after 57 minutes. Despite his return, however, Chile began to grow in momentum, and Martínez had to be at his best to palm away Lucas Cepeda’s fierce strike before smartly getting down to keep out Rodrigo Echeverría’s effort.

Already with an eye for goal, Cepeda should have equalised as the game approached the final quarter-hour. However, despite having the back of the net at his mercy, the striker wastefully fired Chile’s final opportunity of the game wide of the post.

Argentina extended their lead at the top of the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualification (WCQ) standings to 10 points with a fourth consecutive win, after Ecuador drew 0-0 with Brazil.

Meanwhile, Chile's ninth defeat in 15 World Cup qualifiers means they realistically need to win all three of their remaining matches — starting with a trip to Bolivia on Tuesday — and hope that other results go their way if they are to secure their first finals appearance since 2014.