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Argentina are getting perilously close to missing out on the 2018 World Cup after a drab 0-0 draw with Peru on Thursday evening left their qualification hopes dangling by a gossamer thread.
Lionel Messi and the chaps carved out a succession of decent chances but failed to make anything stick in front of a cacophonous Bombanera crowd, as Peru ‘keeper Pedro Gallese kept all and sundry at bay…
The single point garnered leaves Argentina wallowing down in sixth place in what is proving to be an incredibly tight CONMEBOL qualification pool.
While 13 points behind leaders Brazil, the Albiceleste are level on points with Peru in fifth and just one point behind Colombia and Chile in fourth and fifth place respectively…
With each nation now having just one fixture remaining apiece, two points currently separate third and seventh.
Come the final standings, the top four teams will qualify for Russia 2018 automatically, while whoever finishes fifth will have to face New Zealand in a play-off in November.
Argentina are set to play Ecuador in Quito (always a challenging task due to the strangulating altitude), where they’ve failed to record a win since 2001.
Put it this way: The omens are not good.