Uruguay vs Argentina, 5 Talking Points; FIFA World Cup Qualifiers

Argentina trotted over the border to Uruguay to play in a crucial World Cup qualifier and managed to walk away with what can kindly be called "a result" after a dull 0-0 draw that had all the hallmarks of an Oscar Tabarez classic.

It was a match that even the most astute observers of tactical patterns would struggle to discern anything positive from (despite Lionel Messi - and even Edinson Cavani - showing glimpses of the immense talent they possess), and with that in mind we look at the five main learnings we took away from the match - which you can relive right here through our minute-by-minute coverage

#5. Jorge Sampaoli's side lacks the Sampaoli-stamp. For now.

What do you expect when you come up against a Jorge Sampaoli side? Pace, directness, incessant pressing and lightning attacks would certainly form the core of what you'd expect - but in his first competitive match as manager of the Argentina national side, Sampaoli's men showed none of the blood and thunder aggression that all his sides, till date, have been famous for.

Sure, it was against the worst possible opposition - an Uruguay side that seemed almost allergic to having the ball at their feet and defended with ten men well inside their own half - but those who appointed Sampaoli, and those who hailed his appointment, will be hoping that this is merely a debut-hiccup and that Argentina can go on to reflect the qualities that the charismatic manager is so famous for.

Of course, it's way too early to say Sampaoli is merely another Bauza (surely, no one can be that inept with such a talented squad) but saying that the former Sevilla and Chile boss has his work cut out is a massive understatement.

#4. Have we seen the sun set on the "Mascherano plus 10" era?

Is this the — Will Mascherano's trademark tackles be restricted to the training ground now?

There was this famous Adidas ad that ran before the 2010 World Cup that went with the tagline "<insert your name> + 10". This was brilliantly used by Diego Maradona soon after he took charge of the national team. When asked what his likely team would be he said with the easy conviction he's always carried - "It's Mascherano plus 10."

For nigh on a decade now, those words have stood as the gospel truth as successive Argentina managers have built their teams on the solid foundation that the ever-combative, ever-passionate Javier Mascherano has given them.

If this game - a game that embodied everything Mascherano stands for - was any indication, Sampaoli may be about to usher in the end of an era. As good a defensive midfielder as Mascherano was in his prime, Barcelona's use of him as a central defender seems to have affected his game irreversibly - and despite all the outrage pouring out of the farthest corners of the internet, this may just be the best thing that's happened to that Argentina back-line. When it's time to move on... well, you really do need to simply up and move... and Sampaoli may have done just that

#3. Lionel Messi, Mauro Icardi, and Paulo Dybala need time to gel

They were — Messi and Dybala - not exactly on the same wavelength yet!

Before the match, Jorge Sampaoli had said: "It's important to know if Messi & Dybala complement each other because it would disadvantage for the team if they isolate themselves."... after this encounter, it's unlikely he's learned much more than he already knew about the chemistry his best playmakers share.

Having recalled Mauro Icardi from the international exile he's strangely had to endure over the past couple of years - and having finally taken the bold step to drop Gonzalo Higuain - Sampaoli fielded a brand new front three that looked as off-wavelength and uncomfortable with each other as one would reasonably expect three people who have played so infrequently with each other to look.

Messi dropped deeper and deeper as the game progressed and was seen for vast patches of the game playing in the "Andrea Pirlo" role, trying to prompt play from much further away from the opposition goal than his manager would have thought ideal. Dybala may need to make a few adjustments to his game to enable Messi the freedom he craves.

The trio may take a while to gel and usually, Sampaoli would be afforded the time required to fashion a proper attack from the immense resources at his disposal - but his predecessor has seen to it that time is something he has little of. A couple more games and Sampaoli needs to get his act together.

#2. Oscar Tabarez is still one of the world's best purveyors of defensive-minded football

Diego Godin and Mauro Icardi — Diego Godin was immense as Tabarez's side put in another defensive masterclass

Oscar Tabarez has now been in charge of his nation's football team for 11 years, a period in which he has managed them 144 times in international competition. The one thing those 11 years and 144 games have had in common is that across that time Uruguay have been an insanely tough side to beat.

Having spent a decade to mould the team in his image, Uruguay are arguably the best defensive-minded national side on the planet - tough to beat, committed to the cause (regardless of reputation or ego - the way Suarez and Cavani put in a shift should be a lesson for footballers all over) and next to impossible to fluster. Going into the match they were sitting pretty in the third position in the CONMEBOL table for WC qualification and needed a point against today's opposition to book their ticket to Russia - a point they duly went on to get.

They may not set many imaginations on fire - and they may bore the living daylights out of the neutral, and the opposition, - but they sure as hell know how to get the job done; and Oscar Tabarez deserves all the credit for that.

#1. The possibility of Lionel Messi missing the World Cup still exists

In the end, though, it will still always be about Lionel Andres Messi, won't it?

Brazil eased past Ecuador to finish winners of the group - an incredible performance (overall) from Tite's men - while Chile failed to get past Paraguay and lost 2-0 to the "minnows". This was good news for La Albiceleste as they come closer to Chile and have a real chance of working their way back up the rankings to an automatic qualifying position. But it also brought Paraguay closer to Argentina - such is the tight nature of qualifying on this continent!

A World Cup without Messi would be a disaster - some convoluted conspiracy theories suggest this may be a reason behind FIFA's relaxation of the four game ban they'd earlier imposed on the Argentine captain - but we might have to wait till the final round of qualification to get a confirmation on the great man's participation in Russia 2018.

Here's how the table looks like after a frenetic day's action in South America (read as rank, nation, points accrued - all teams apart from Peru and Bolivia have played 15 games as of the time of publishing)

1. Brazil - 36

2. Colombia - 25

3. Uruguay - 24

4. Chile - 23

TOP 4 AUTOMATICALLY QUALIFY

5. Argentina - 23

FIFTH PLACE GOES INTO PLAY-OFF WITH OCEANIA (i.e. New Zealand

6. Paraguay - 21

7. Ecuador - 20

8. Peru - 18

9. Bolivia - 10

10. Venezuela - 7

Edited by Anirudh Menon