Advertisement
The USA held their nerve to edge Argentina XV 25-24 at Inter Miami CF Stadium, a one-point win built on a strong home set-piece and a decisive second-half spell. The Eagles trailed at the break, reclaimed the lead after half-time, and then clung on as the visitors closed to within a single point in the final ten minutes.
S. Klein (22'), M. Alikhan (34'), M. Redelinghuys (62')
Tries
M. Vaca (9'), N. Viola (30'), F. Rossetto (40'), T. Sbrocco (71')
L. Carty (35', 63')
Conversions
I. Dogliani (40', 72')
L. Carty (4', 53')
Penalties
This was a tight, swinging contest that neither side ever fully controlled. The scoreboard reflected a match decided by small margins: a pair of penalties from Luke Carty, two yellow cards at key moments, and a set-piece edge that grew in importance as the game wore on.
Luke Carty opened the scoring with a fourth-minute penalty, but Argentina XV hit back quickly through hooker Martín Vaca on nine minutes to move in front. The USA responded through Shilo Klein, whose 22nd-minute try restored the lead, only for scrum-half Nicolás Viola to score on the half-hour and swing it back the visitors' way.
The closing stretch of the first half was where the game turned. Makeen Alikhan crossed on 34 minutes, Carty converted, and the USA were back in front. But Alikhan was then shown a yellow card at 40 minutes, and Franco Rossetto struck on the stroke of half-time. Ignacio Dogliani converted, and Argentina XV went in 17-15 ahead.
The second half was where the USA's set-piece and bench told. Carty levelled matters with a 53rd-minute penalty, and when Francisco Sluga was sin-binned two minutes into the half, the hosts had their own numerical advantage to work with. They made it count. Marno Redelinghuys finished on 62 minutes, Carty converted, and the USA led 25-17.
That eight-point cushion looked useful but never quite safe. Thiago Sbrocco went over on 71 minutes and Dogliani's conversion made it 25-24. From there, it was a matter of the USA surviving the closing minutes and denying Argentina XV a final breakthrough.
The numbers point to a home side that lived off its set-piece and defence rather than sheer attacking volume. The USA won all 13 of their lineouts and held the edge in the scrum, while Argentina XV's lineout returned 76% success at 13 from 17 — a difference that helped the Eagles control the tight exchanges when it mattered.
CARRIES
CLEAN BREAKS
TACKLE
TACKLES MISSED
TURNOVERS WON
PENALTIES CONCEDED
YELLOW CARDS
POSSESSION
SCRUMS
LINEOUTS
The USA also did the bulk of the defensive work, making 163 tackles to Argentina XV's 111. That gap partly reflects the visitors carrying more often, 98 times to 79, and making more clean breaks, seven to three, but the hosts kept finding enough answers and won five turnovers to two. In a one-point game, that combination of defensive graft and set-piece accuracy proved decisive.
Forwards
Backs
Replacements
Forwards
Backs
Replacements
There was plenty to like about the visitors, and they will feel this was a game they could have taken. They carried more, made more clean breaks and scored four tries to three. Flanker Nicolas D Amorim was a key contributor, carrying nine times for 35 metres and adding 13 tackles.
What let them down were the small things. The lineout misfired four times, they won only two turnovers, and the Sluga yellow card gave the USA a platform they used to score the decisive try. Their tries came through Vaca, Viola, Rossetto and Sbrocco, but the control needed to turn a one-point defeat into a win was missing in key moments.
For the USA, it is another narrow win after a strong Nations Cup run. They have again shown an ability to stay in the fight when the game is in the balance. Argentina XV, for their part, leave with a lively attacking performance but one undermined by set-piece inaccuracies and a costly spell down a man.
A one-point game, and the side that handled the basics better came out ahead.
