Venezuela vs. Argentina: Score, Reaction from World Cup 2018 Qualifier

Argentina overcame a 2-0 deficit to earn a 2-2 draw against Venezuela Tuesday night, surviving what would have been one of the biggest upsets to this point in 2018 World Cup qualifying. 

Nicolas Otamendi came through with the equalizing goal off a corner in the 83rd minute to help save one point for the short-handed squad.

Argentina were the top team in the CONMEBOL table entering the day with Venezuela sitting in dead last with just one point earned in seven matches. However, the match didn’t go according to script in a rainy night in Merida.

Albicelestes were playing without a few of their biggest stars including Lionel Messi, Gonzalo Higuain and Sergio Aguero, and the impact was clear as they struggled to get much going offensively in the match.

Meanwhile, Venezuela responded with aggressive play and a pair of impressive goals from Juanpi Anor and Josef Martinez. It appeared as though this would be enough to pull off the shocking win, but goals by Lucas Pratto and Otamendi led the match to finish in a draw.

Daniel Edwards of Goal explained how this match was a sign of the difficulty of coming through this event:

Also, this Argentina-Venezuela match confirms why CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers is greatest tournament in the world, better than World Cup.

— Daniel Edwards (@DanEdwardsGoal) September 7, 2016

With Uruguay winning earlier in the day, Argentina will lose its spot on top of the table while Venezuela will remain in last place.

Despite the struggles to this point in qualifying, Venezuela were confident at the start of the match and for the first half looked like the better team. The squad was aggressive near the net and earned more chances than its counterpart.

The home team was finally able to break through in the 35th minute on this impressive shot by Juanpi, via beIN Sports:

“Can I Get a Sparkle count on that goal? EXTRAORDINARIO …

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