Argentina cruise past Chile in World Cup qualifiers

Alexis Mac Allister, Julian Alvarez and Paulo Dybala were on target as Argentina tightened their grip on South America's 2026 World Cup qualifying tournament with a 3-0 win over Chile on Thursday.

Liverpool midfielder Mac Allister swept in a low finish three minutes after half-time to break the deadlock at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires against a defensive Chile side.

Former Manchester City striker Alvarez doubled the lead in the 84th minute with a thumping shot from outside the area before substitute Dybala put the seal on the victory with a late strike in stoppage time.

It was another clinical victory for the reigning world champions, who are now cruising towards confirming their place at the 2026 finals being staged in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Lionel Scaloni's team lead South America's 10-team round-robin qualifying table by five points after seven games.

The top six teams in the final standings qualify automatically for the 2026 finals in North America with the seventh-placed team advancing to a playoff.

Argentina, who also beat Chile 1-0 on their way to clinching back-to-back Copa America titles earlier this year, went into Thursday's game missing injured captain Lionel Messi and veteran winger Angel Di Maria, who retired from international football after the Copa America triumph in July.

Di Maria was feted by his former teammates at a pre-game ceremony before taking his place in the stands to watch the world champions secure their sixth win from seven qualifying games.

Despite the absence of Messi and Di Maria, Argentina had plenty of creative guile in attack with Lautaro Martinez and Atletico Madrid's Alvarez causing problems for the Chile defense.

Argentina, meanwhile, controlled midfield with Mac Allister lining up alongside Rodrigo De Paul and Enzo Fernandez.

After a cagey first-half, the breakthrough came in the 48th minute when Alvarez whipped in a low cross from the right.

Martinez dummied cleverly and allowed the ball to roll through to Mac Allister, who guided an accurate shot into the bottom corner.

South America's qualifiers continue on Friday with second-placed Uruguay hosting Paraguay in Montevideo while struggling Brazil, who are 11 points adrift of leaders Argentina in sixth, face Ecuador in Curitiba.

Third-placed Colombia, meanwhile, travel to Lima to face bottom-of-the-table Peru.