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Argentina's national team in the night from Wednesday to Thursday Lithuanian time defeated the planet's champion Brazil and secured a spot in the 2006 FIFA World Cup final tournament.
Argentina 3 - 1 Brazil 4' [1 - 0] Hernan Crespo 18' [2 - 0] Juan Roman Riquelme 40' [3 - 0] Hernan Crespo 72' [3 - 1] Roberto Carlos
Argentina took the lead in the fourth minute, when H. Crespo scored a goal from 12 meters after a mistake by defenders, beating his teammate Dida, who was the goalkeeper of the "AC Milan". Shortly afterwards, the hosts increased their lead to two goals with a powerful long-range shot that left no chance for the Brazilian goalkeeper J. R. Riquelme.
As the end of the first half approached, the hosts completely stunned their opponents, as the result became overwhelming after H. Crespo's accurate header. This was the seventh goal by the Argentine in the qualifying matches, while the Brazilians suffered their biggest defeat in the last seven years.
However, in the second half, the world champions recovered and scored a consolation goal in the 72nd minute with a firm penalty by R. Carlos. Later, the Brazilians failed to capitalize on several opportunities to score, and in one of the episodes, Adriano's shot hit the crossbar.
Argentina celebrated an impressive victory and after 15 matches with 31 points, they solidified their position at the top of the South American zone of the FIFA World Cup qualifying tournament standings. Despite the setback, Brazil, with 27 points, only needs one more win to secure a ticket to the 2006 tournament in Germany.
In the tournament standings, Ecuador occupies third place, while Colombia shares the fifth position with Chile, and Paraguay holds the fourth place. With three games remaining, Uruguay still has hope, while Peru, Venezuela, and Bolivia have almost no chance.
Tournament standings: - Argentina: 15 matches played, 9 wins, 4 draws, 2 losses, 27 goals scored, 15 points - Brazil: 15 matches played, 7 wins, 6 draws, 2 losses, 26 goals scored, 27 points - Ecuador: 15 matches played, 7 wins, 2 draws, 6 losses, 21 goals scored, 23 points - Paraguay: 15 matches played, 6 wins, 4 draws, 5 losses, 21 goals scored, 22 points - Colombia: 15 matches played, 5 wins, 5 draws, 5 losses, 20 goals scored, 20 points - Chile: 15 matches played, 5 wins, 5 draws, 5 losses, 17 goals scored, 20 points - Uruguay: 15 matches played, 4 wins, 6 draws, 5 losses, 19 goals scored, 18 points - Peru: 15 matches played, 3 wins, 6 draws, 6 losses, 15 goals scored, 15 points - Venezuela: 15 matches played, 4 wins, 3 draws, 8 losses, 16 goals scored, 15 points - Bolivia: 15 matches played, 4 wins, 1 draw, 10 losses, 17 goals scored, 13 points
