Argentina secured a deserved 1-0 win over Brazil via a goal from Gabriel Mercado with West Ham’s Manuel Lanzini coming on as a late substitute to make his debut.
Granted Brazil was missing several stars including Neymar, but both sides had a crack in a physical contest in front of 95,569 fans at the MCG in Melbourne, Australia.
While Argentina possesses arguably the most outrageous array of attacking talent, a paltry 15 goals in 14 qualifying games leaves them languishing in fifth for the World Cup qualifiers, which means a playoff.
Lionel Messi and emerging Paulo Dybala’s combination is central to Argentina’s plans under Sampaoli. The jubilant coach raised both arms in the air when Argentina deservedly opened the scoring just before the break.
Lanzini came on as a 81st minute subsitute to replace Banega.