No one has their Argentina spot secured except for one - Scaloni

Lionel Scaloni

, the

head coach, believes there is still a lot to play in the World Cup qualifying as spots for Qatar 2020 are up for grabs "except for one".

Albiceleste, who have already qualified, went past

1-0 on Tuesday courtesy of Lautaro Martinez’s goal in the 29th minute to seal the three points.

Scaloni did not ask for Lionel Messi for the two qualifiers of Argentina in the last couple of weeks after his Covid-19 case, whereas Rodrigo De Paul and Leandro Paredes were also not available, with Emiliano Buendia having his first game off the bench when they locked horns with Colombia.

"

We had the possibility of calling up players but we preferred not to expose footballers who aren’t playing right now,"

Scaloni told reporters after the game.

"Not only did we miss players but we had to improvise in putting players in positions. We went forward with these call ups who came to contribute and, in the end, it went well.

“Here, you can’t relax. Everyone is part of this process but on the pitch, you have to perform. The players that were here today took advantage of their opportunity.

“There’s still a lot left until the World Cup. No one has their spot secured, except for one, as I have always said.”

A win against Colombia would see Scaloni become the first Argentine coach to vanquish all nine South American national teams.

The clean sheet showed that Argentina have not conceded in their last five qualifiers at home, whereas the victory also extended their run to 29 unbeaten matches.

"

I don’t think that’s important, it’s how the team functions and how these players feel wearing the shirt,"

Scaloni said about their unbeaten streak.

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