Chilean footballer Arturo Vidal was sent off for a horrendous challenge on an opponent in a 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifier against Ecuador. The Inter Milan midfielder kicked an opponent in the face while trying to receive a long pass near Ecuador’s penalty box.

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Vidal lunged for a nonsensical challenge that saw him being shown a straight red card in the 13th minute of the game when his side were already 1 – 0 down. While the move was unintentional, the player was sent off for the incident and rightly so due to the severity of the challenge.

Take a look at the incident here:

The midfielder is an integral part of his national side and his dismissal from the pitch proved to be costly. Ecuador emerged as winners with a score line that read 2 – 0 at the end of the 90 minutes at the Estadio San Carlos de Apoquindo.

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Chile went 1 – 0 down in the ninth minute when Pervis Estupinan slotted the ball home. While the one man advantage allowed Ecuador to dominate and control the flow of the game, they had to wait until injury time to find the second goal which sealed the deal.

The CONMEBOL qualifiers are always an intriguing affair with a few big names missing out on a chance at representing their nation on football’s biggest stage in every edition.

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Brazil and Argentina have already sealed their berths for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar while Chile sit sixth on the points table.

Arturo Vidal’s side led by Martin Lasarte are in real danger of missing out on the World Cup if they fail to win their following matches.

Two more direct qualification spots and one inter-confederation play-off spot remain but as things stand Chile are missing out on both. However, the points difference between the remaining contenders is not huge.

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At present, only Venezuela, who sit at the bottom of the table, are out of contention for the World Cup qualification.