Di Maria: Argentina took another important step

The Real Madrid winger believes that his national side, showed great resilience to earn a draw away in Bolivia despite falling behind in the first half to a Marcelo Moreno goal

Angel Di Maria believes Argentina took "another important step" towards World Cup qualification after grinding out a 1-1 draw against Bolivia in testing conditions in La Paz.

Valencia midfielder Ever Banega cancelled out Marcelo Martins opener which keeps Argentina four points clear of second-placed Ecuador in the Conmebol standings.

Bolivia enjoy one of the great levellers in world football with playing their home qualifiers in a stadium which is 4,000 metres above sea level.

And Di Maria believes the result was an important one towards reaching World Cup 2014, he said to Ole: “We did all the things we could to win this game.

"The [qualifying] group is very close and things only keep adding to it. We took another important step [towards qualification]. We got the draw that we deserved.”

Argentina know full well the dangers of playing in Bolivia. Four years previously, they were dismantled 6-1 in a World Cup qualifier.