Tite, Suárez and Messi: the protagonists of a record tie

Tite's Brazil has made history in the long and once hard-fought South American qualifiers for Qatar 2022. The

, which has been preparing for four years to once again stand up to European teams in the World Cup, has set a new record in the South American qualifier that he has led from start to finish.

With their 4-0 win this Tuesday at the height of La Paz, the

has reached 45 points and surpasses the record of Marcelo Bielsa's Argentina on the way to Japan and Korea 2002, which then stood at 43.

The two giants of the region, Neymar's Brazil and Messi's Argentina, have remained undefeated throughout the 18 dates with a devastating pace, despite having a pending match due to the duel between the two suspended in September.

Uruguay and Ecuador also obtained their direct classification in advance, and Peru has ensured this Tuesday in the last day of occupying the fifth place that gives the option of the playoff – a single match on June 13 or 14 against a team from the confederation Asian–.

In that postponed duel between Brazil and Argentina, which will be played on neutral territory, something more than honor will be at stake, or the revenge of the final of the last Copa América that the Albiceleste won at the Maracana.

With both teams undefeated, the South American classic is also the chance to knock down the historic rival.

La

already has the points record in its pocket, but no team has finished without defeats so far in the all-against-all format, that celebrated 'team league' played since the route to the World Cup in France in 1998. Neither not even Bielsa's Argentina, which despite being a steamroller lost a game, precisely against Brazil (3-1 at Morumbi in Sao Paulo).

Both Tite and Lionel Scaloni – one at the maturity of his career, the other at the beginning – keep open the possibility of finishing without losing a game.

An unbeatable omen for two historical teams, which add up to seven World titles – five for Brazil, two for Argentina – and said goodbye to Russia with wounded pride in the face of Europe's superiority.

incombustible scorers

Despite the early elimination of Bolivia, its captain, Marcelo Moreno Martins, established himself at 34 years of age as the top scorer in these qualifiers.

His 10 goals were not enough to make the highland team competitive, which usually suffers as a visitor far from the height of La Paz.

Moreno Martins – the son of a Brazilian footballer who landed in Bolivia in the 1970s – is his country's top scorer, and in this edition he rubbed shoulders with the two great friends who competed for first place in the historical scorers table: Lionel Messi (34 years old) and Luis Suarez (35 years old).

The hand in hand between the Argentine and the Uruguayan, who formed a period trident with Neymar in Barcelona, ​​concentrated the spotlight from the first dates.

Messi and Suárez exchanged first place on that historic podium, which has seen their names rise since the road to South Africa 2010. The Uruguayan even became the top scorer on the way to Brazil 2014, while Messi has been constant in all the qualifiers he has played.

At the last date they arrived tied with 28 goals, but Suárez surpassed Messi for the first place thanks to the goal (from the Chilean) that he scored for Chile in the 2-0 victory away from home.

Precisely Moreno Martins closes the historic podium, despite the fact that he never got to play in the World Cup, and is closely followed by another veteran striker who has just played his last qualifier, the Chilean Alexis Sánchez.

Gone are the

of yesteryear such as Crespo, Salas or Zamorano.

Another Chilean, Humberto Suazo, was the top scorer on the way to South Africa 2010, with 10 goals;

Suárez scored 11 heading to Brazil 2014;

His compatriot Edinson Cavani relieved him with 10 celebrations in the 2018 Russia qualifier and Moreno Martins keeps that distinction in this edition.

But it is in the historical accumulated where Suárez overtook Messi in the last breath, when both compete for that honor in the autumn of their glorious careers.

Goals in South America, at least in this tie, were mostly a thirty-something affair.

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