Argentina have beaten Chile 2-0 in their CONMEBOL South American qualifying match for the World Cup Finals 2010, South Africa, with both the goals coming from superb free-kicks from Villarreal CF forward Juan Roman Riquelme.

Argentina head coach Alfio Basile started with Manchester United striker Carlos Tevez and Barcelona's Lionel Messi joing the Villarreal CF striker Riquelme in attack.

The first half started slowly, with half chances for both sides and a decent penalty call from Chile that was waved away by the referee, but the home side soon began to take control of the match, with the home support growing as the half progressed.

After building on their pressure Argentina finally took the lead in the 27th minute from a sublime 23-yard free-kick by Juan Roman Riquelme, leaving Chile goalkeeper Claudio Bravo rooted to the spot as he watched the ball fly past his left and into the top corner of the net.

This brought the Albiceleste to life and it was through Riquelme - who had been a doubt to start after having not played a competitive match for the past three months - that they extended their lead in the last minute of the first half, with an almost carbon-copy free-kick.

The second goal, which was from a free-kick conceded by Manuel Iturra, which was slightly further out from goal than the first, but just as stunning, placed in exactly the same spot and yet again leaving Bravo rooted to the spot.

Chile, already facing an uphill struggle to get a result in the match, started the second half brightly and defending well, but suffered a major setback when Cristian Alvarez was shown a second yellow-card (just three minutes after receiving his first booking) in the 54th minute for a challenge on Maxi Rodriguez.

This did not affect their spirit, but unfortunately the loss of Alvarez limited their attacking options, with Chile head coach Marcelo Bielsa seemingly opting for damage limitation.

Riquelme was desperate to achieve a hat-trick and came close from free-kicks on a couple of occasions in the second half, with half-time substitute Javier Saviola also having shots blocked by the Chile defence and keeper.

Argentina seemed quite content to play the game out, when they should have maybe have had more of a killer instinct, but will be happy with the result against a very hard working and disciplined Chilean side.

Argentina v Chile Starting Line-Up's - CLICK TO VIEW

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