Argentina player ratings vs Uruguay

 

Argentina player ratings vs Uruguay: Lionel Messi can't save World Cup winners as Albiceleste fall to Uruguay for first loss in a year

For the first time since that famous defeat to Saudi Arabia in the World Cup, Lionel Messi and Argentina have lost.

It's been quite some time since Argentina felt this feeling. Just six days shy of one whole year, in fact. For the first time since their World Cup opener in Qatar, Lionel Messi and Argentina have tasted defeat.

It arrived at the hands of Uruguay, who stunned the Albiceleste, 2-0, at La Bombonera. Goals from Maxi Araujo and Darwin Nunez ultimately led to Argentina's demise, with those two being the first the team has conceded since the famous World Cup final against France.

It'll be a frustrating defeat for Argentina, who conceded the first goal from a bad giveaway. The second, Nunez's finish, came late with the team pushing, ending any hopes of a comeback.

In the grand scheme, this loss will likely mean little. Both Argentina and Uruguay are almost guaranteed to make it out of World Cup qualifying and onto the 2026 tournament. However, for the first time in a long while, Argentina have been shown to be beatable, which will leave plenty of other teams with a bit more hope than before with the Copa America right around the corner.

GOAL rates Argentina's players from La Bombonera...

Goalkeeper & Defence

Emiliano Martinez (6/10):

So long shutout streak. The opening goal was the first Martinez has allowed for Argentina since the World Cup final, which he'll be disappointed by, even if the defence did let him down.

Nicolas Tagliafico (6/10):

Steady as always. You can nitpick that he could have done more to help on the first goal, but Argentina were put into panic mode when Molina lost the ball.

Nicolas Otamendi (6/10):

Was solid enough, but did show some signs of his age in this one as he looked a bit off the pace at times.

Cristian Romero (7/10):

A very good performance from the Spurs defender, who did a bit of everything on the day.

Nahuel Molina (5/10):

A rough giveaway on the goal sequence, and that's something you just can't do at this level.

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