Argentina draws with Brazil, qualifies for 2022 World Cup
Sao Paulo, Nov 17: Argentina secured a place in next year's World Cup after a 0-0 draw against Brazil, giving Lionel Messi his fifth and possibly final shot at winning the only major trophy missing in his career.
Second-place Argentina qualified after Chile lost 2-0 at home to third-place Ecuador. With 29 points and four qualifiers remaining, Lionel Scaloni's Argentina squad cannot be overtaken by more than two rivals.
Competition-leading Brazil had already secured the first of South America's four direct entries to Qatar 2022. The fifth-place team goes into an intercontinental playoff for a spot in Qatar.
Brazil has 35 points, six ahead of Argentina. Both teams have completed 13 games, one fewer than scheduled because their encounter in September was suspended after seven minutes when Brazilian officials belatedly enforced COVID-19 restrictions. FIFA is yet to decide what to do with that match.
Ecuador has 23 points and is well established in the third position. And then, except for last-place Venezuela, there's a crush of candidates to qualify.
Colombia and Peru have 17 points and Chile is sixth with 16 points, narrowly ahead of Uruguay on goal difference. Bolivia is surprisingly competitive with 15 points in eighth position. Paraguay can't be ruled out with 13 points.
ARGENTINA 0, BRAZIL 0
Few opportunities were available for Argentina and Brazil in a tense match marked by Messi's low key performance and Neymar's absence due to injury. Goalkeepers Emiliano Martinez and Alisson were just about spectators most of the match.
Messi, who played the entire match after recovering from a knee injury, said he felt well on the pitch. He played for only 15 minutes in Argentina's 1-0 win over Uruguay last week so he could recover to face Brazil.
It is not easy to play with the pace that this match demanded, Messi said after the match.
He had only one opportunity from the edge of the box near the final whistle, but it was easily saved by Brazil goalkeeper Alisson.
Brazil player Fred, who hit the bar with a shot in the 60th minute, said his team's defense was once more tested and once more succeeded in qualifiers.
Today we didn't score, we missed some opportunities, but once again we have a clean sheet," he said.
We hope to arrive well at the World Cup.
The most controversial moment of the match in San Juan, in Argentina's Northwest, was in the 35th minute when Raphinha was hit by Nicolas Otemendi's elbow on his mouth and started bleeding. There was no video review of the move. The Brazilian needed five stitches during the break.
Brazil coach Tite sounded unusually upset with Uruguayan referee Andres Cunha and his video assistant referees about the incident.
It is simply impossible not to see Otamendi's elbow on Raphinha," he said.
Was that going to decide the match? I don't know. It was a great match, but there is an element (missing) that should be equal for both teams.
Argentina's Scaloni agreed both teams had few opportunities, but focused on his team's direct entry to Qatar.
This year was magnificent. We won Copa America, qualified for the World Cup, and we are in an unbeaten streak, he said, in a reference to his team's 17 wins and 10 draws since the 2019 Copa America semifinal against Brazil.
To qualify so early, in such tough qualifiers, it is something to be proud of.
BOLIVIA 3, URUGUAY 0
Uruguay will finish the year in seventh place in the 10-team round-robin competition. It has four matches remaining to push for qualification.
Bolivia opened the scoring on the half-hour when goalkeeper Fernando Muslera failed to hold Juan Carlos Arce's cross. Marcelo Martins got the second in the altitude of La Paz with a header in the 45th.
Arce finished off in the 79th with another header. It could have been worse for Uruguay had Bolivia not missed a penalty in the second half.
Uruguay coach scar Tab rez told a post-match news conference he's not throwing in the towel.
I am a professional, I signed a contract and it says everything I need to do, the veteran coach said.
I don't know who can ask me to do that (resign) after this time at work.
During his second spell with Uruguay, Tab rez took the team to the past three World Cups, including a memorable campaign to the semifinals in South Africa in 2010. He has also won the 2011 Copa America.
Peru overtook Uruguay after a 2-1 win at Venezuela, moving Ricardo Gareca's team to 17 points along with Colombia, which had a 0-0 draw with Paraguay.
Gianluca Lapadula opened the scoring for the visitors in the 18th minute and Venezuela's Darwin Machis equalized in the 52nd. Christian Cueva netted the winner in the 65th, and Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese saved a penalty to keep his team in the lead.
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Nirmala Sitharaman inaugurates Gems and Jewellery Institute campus in Udupi
Udupi (Karnataka) (PTI): Union Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman on Tuesday inaugurated the premises of the Indian Institute of Gems and Jewellery here, praising the centre for providing professional training and promoting entrepreneurship among youth.
Speaking at the event, Sitharaman said the centre, established in 2016 with support from the Gems and Jewellery Export Promotion Council and the district administration, has grown steadily despite disruptions during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We started in a very small place, unsure of the response. Today, advanced facilities including CAD and 3D printing are available, enabling students to gain industry-relevant skills,” she said.
Sitharaman highlighted the centre’s reach across Karnataka and beyond.
“Students have come from Karwar, Chitradurga, Raichur, and Tamil Nadu. Some had no prior experience but are now running successful jewellery businesses,” she said, citing examples of trainees who returned to their hometowns to start enterprises.
Emphasising affordability, she noted, “Training abroad is expensive, but here the Indian Institute of Gems and Jewellery offers professional courses at accessible costs, making skill development widely available.”
The minister also underlined the centre’s contribution to India’s jewellery export sector.
“This region, from Ratnagiri to Kerala, has a rich jewellery tradition serving the Indian diaspora. Skilled manpower from such centres strengthens our exports and creates livelihood opportunities,” she said.
Sitharaman commended the collaboration between the government, GJEPC, and local jewellers, noting that around 600 students were trained last year.
She urged greater awareness to attract more youth to the institute, describing it as a model public-private partnership that fosters entrepreneurship and skill development.
The minister also witnessed the signing of an MoU between the Indian Institute of Gems & Jewellery and IIT Madras under the InCent LGD platform for a specialised, industry-oriented certification programme in lab-grown diamond technologies.
The office of the minister said in a post on X that the programme will help bridge critical skill gaps, create job-ready professionals, boost value-added manufacturing, and strengthen India’s position in the global LGD (lab-grown diamond) value chain, aligned with Make in India, Skill India, and the goal of a self-reliant, globally competitive LGD ecosystem.
It further said that the Rs 242 crore grant announced in the Union Budget 2023–24 for lab-grown diamond research at IIT Madras is helping build a world-class ecosystem.
Under the InCent initiative, India’s first indigenously designed scaled prototype of a High Pressure High Temperature (HPHT) LGD machine has been developed and installed at IIT Madras, while imported commercial HPHT machines have also been installed for benchmarking.
Sitharaman also witnessed a demonstration of the ‘Design to Manufacturing’ process by students at IIGJ Udupi and interacted with trainees of the institute and entrepreneurs from the gems and jewellery industry, the minister’s office said in another post.
