Argentina vs. Brazil: Winners and Losers from 2018 World Cup Qualifier

Argentina remained winless in FIFA World Cup qualifying after a 1-1 draw with Brazil on Friday in Buenos Aires.

The match was delayed 24 hours following a heavy rainstorm in the Argentine capital on Thursday night. But the hosts didn't seem to notice the wait, racing out of the blocks, with Ezequiel Lavezzi scoring the opener in the 34th minute.

Brazil recovered in the second half and equalized through Lucas Lima in the 58th minute.

The result leaves Argentina in eighth place (out of 10) in CONMEBOL qualifying with just two points from their first three matches. Brazil are fourth with four points.

Here, B/R selects winners and losers from the match.

Loser: Argentina's Qualifying Campaign

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Friday's draw left Argentina with just two points from their opening three qualifiers. In the absence of injured superstar Lionel Messi, the Albiceleste have lost to Ecuador and drawn with Paraguay and Brazil.

A draw with a world power like Brazil is no cause for shame, but Argentina should be worried about their lack of scoring. In three games, Tata Martino's men have scored just once.

Messi's return should help, of course, but one has to wonder whether Argentina are digging themselves a hole. The South American qualifying campaign is extraordinarily long, but the omens are bad, as Mister Chip noted on Twitter: "After 349 occasions, only 4 countries (no from CONEMBOL) went to the World Cup with 0 wins after 3 qualifying matches."

Argentina have time. While it's true the Albiceleste are currently in eighth place, they are only two points off the final automatic qualifying spot—with 15 matches to go.

Winner: Angel Di Maria

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Angel Di Maria wore the No. 10 shirt for Argentina in the absence of Lionel Messi. Although it's impossible to replace the latter, Di Maria turned in a performance worthy of the jersey.

The Paris Saint-Germain attacker was instrumental in Argentina's goal, playing a sublime pass to Gonzalo Higuain on the right. Higuain then picked out Ezequiel Lavezzi with a cross for the opener.

This is not to say that Di Maria should keep the No. 10 shirt ahead of Messi. For all his talents, the PSG man can frustrate at times with an errant ball or two in the most critical of attacking moments. 

But Di Maria should be pleased with how he stood in for the irreplaceable Messi in this game.

Loser: Neymar

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Argentina announced their intentions quickly, fouling Neymar within the first few seconds of the match. From there, the hosts refused to yield an inch, harrying and hounding the Brazilian superstar all over the pitch.

As a result, Neymar struggled in his first international game following a four-match suspension. The Barcelona man was anonymous in the first half, failing to make any impact for his side. He improved after the break but never reached the levels he has attained so often for Barca in recent weeks.

At Goal, Daniel Edwards wrote:

"

A crunching tackle after just 10 seconds of play led to the first foul of the game, and it was Neymar who was left sprawled out on the turf. It was a typically physical introduction to the campaign, having missed the opening two fixtures, and despite sporadic bursts he was far from reaching his Barca levels against the old enemy. 

"

As the qualification campaign progresses, Brazil will need Neymar to be at his brilliant best.

Winner: Lucas Lima

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Brazil played poorly in the first half and could have trailed by more than just the single goal at halftime. The visitors showed little of the attacking flair that the world expects from the men in the famous yellow-and-blue kit.

The Selecao did improve after halftime, however, and the fightback had its best moment in Lucas Lima's excellent goal. Dani Alves opened up the defense with an outside-of-the-boot pass to substitute Douglas Costa, who powered a header off the crossbar.

The ball fell to Lima, who finished beautifully with an acrobatic volley. 

Winner and Loser: Dani Alves

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Dani Alves looked off the pace for much of the first half and was at fault for Argentina's opening goal.

Admittedly, Alves wasn't the only Brazilian player who was guilty of poor defending (we're staring at you, David Luiz), but his lapse was costly as he failed to track Ezequiel Lavezzi's run through the box. Lavezzi took advantage by firing in Gonzalo Higuain's cross from close range.

A player of Alves' experience should do better.

In the second half, though, the Barcelona man helped set up Brazil's lone goal with a cross to Douglas Costa, who headed off the bar. The ball fell to Lucas Lima, who applied a beautiful volleyed finish. The sequence helped make up for Alves' first-half lapse.

Loser: David Luiz

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Brazil defender David Luiz (who was also at fault for Argentina's goal) drew a red card in the closing minutes after picking up two yellows in quick succession. 

First, the Paris Saint-Germain center-back drew a booking for a foul on Paulo Dybala in the 86th minute. Just two minutes later, he went in two-footed on Lucas Biglia and received his second yellow of the match—and a subsequent red card.

Both fouls were ill-advised. The second was especially silly, since Luiz had to know he was carrying a yellow card.