The 'Dance' of La Araña to the Boastful Raphinha

Raphinha, why don't you just keep quiet? There are times, many times, when it's better not to speak first and regret later. Perhaps this feeling of regret is what the Barça star suffers after the thrashing Argentina handed to Brazil (4-1) in the Superclásico held at River's Monumental in Buenos Aires. The Canarinha forward had anticipated that they would 'give a beating' to their South American archrival 'inside and outside the field' and the response from the Albiceleste, where footballers should express themselves, was devastating.

"Obviously, everything they said beforehand added spice to a match like this, with that way of speaking. But we, with humility, did our job and played a great game. We gave them a dance," responded Julián Álvarez with his classic shy smile after the match, which included a goal to open the Brazilian can, from the Atlético forward.

Great indirect prominence of the Atlético team, as Nahuel Molina and Rodrigo De Paul were also starters, while Ángel Correa and Giuliano Simeone entered in the final stretch, with enough time for Cholito to seal the thrashing by scoring his first goal with his country's senior team. Moreover, the Brazilian's consolation goal, which at that moment in the first half represented 2-1, was scored by Matheus Cunha, Wolverhampton's forward and former Atlético player.

In the Canarinha, the aforementioned Barcelona player Raphinha and the Real Madrid players Vinicius and Rodrygo started, dried up by the Argentine defenders. At the start of the second half, the also Madrid player Endrick came on, who went unnoticed although he starred in a curious image due to an action in which Otamendi lifted him off the ground by pulling his shirt.

La Araña doesn't tire

La Araña, one of the best strikers of the moment, doesn't tire of scoring goals, no matter who the opponent is. Liverpool, Barcelona, Real Madrid, and now Brazil have joined that endless list. It took the Argentine just four minutes to show he is still 'on fire'. First, he recovered in midfield against Raphinha, then generated a foul, later received from Thiago Almada, and finally took advantage of a series of rebounds off the Brazilian defenders to score, anticipating Bento, similar to the World Cup in Qatar against Croatia.

Julián's numbers are astonishing so far this season and explain why he is an irreplaceable player for Cholo Simeone at Atlético and for Scaloni since the World Cup. He already has 26 goals and eight assists in 3,769 minutes spread over 52 matches since mid-last year between Atlético and the national team, giving him a fearsome average of one goal every 145 minutes and a participation every 111.

After Julián, Enzo Fernández, Mac Callister, both in the first half, and the aforementioned Giuliano, twenty minutes from the end, completed Argentina's exhibition that hurts the Verdeamarela so much, and more in a match corresponding to the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. With this victory, Argentina not only confirmed their World Cup qualification, already sealed before the match started by the goalless draw in El Alto between Bolivia and Uruguay, but also affirmed themselves as leaders of the table with 31 points. Brazil follows, far behind, with 21.

"It's a team victory. We played as a block and that's why we minimized Brazil," celebrated Lionel Scaloni, minutes after signing this spectacular triumph. As the newspaper Olé writes in its chronicle, "Argentina flourished with a football masterclass." "It's natural that such a result hurts us a lot; it's a 'marcante' defeat," acknowledged Dorival Júnior, the Brazilian coach, after falling with the whole team at the Monumental.

In the next round, to be played in June, Argentina will visit Chile, while Brazil will go to Ecuador. There are already seven countries qualified for the next World Cup: the hosts United States, Mexico, and Canada, Argentina, Japan, Iran, and New Zealand.