Lionel Messi screwed in a free kick and gave Argentina the lead against Chile in the teams' first match in the South American championship.
But when the referee blew off the match in Rio de Janeiro, Messi's goal after just over half an hour was only enough for a draw.
After a VAR review, Chile received a penalty when Arturo Vidal received an Argentine kick in the wrong place, a penalty that goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez saved via the crossbar only to see Chile's Eduardo Vargas nod in 1-1 on the return.
And despite a total game advantage throughout the match, Argentina did not manage to score a winning goal.
- We had six or seven clear positions and missed them and Chile got a good result.
The chances we created today should have been enough to win by four or five goals, Aston Villa goalkeeper Martínez said in the televised post-match broadcast.
Before the match, the late legend Diego Maradona was hailed.
The match between Paraguay and Bolivia in the same group became a messy affair.
The first half was almost an hour long and contained both a VAR-sentenced penalty and a VAR-sentenced penalty.
Bolivia, who scored on their penalty, also had Jaume Cuellar sent off, which was fatal.
In the second half, Paraguay turned the deficit into a 3-1 victory.
The next round is played the night before Saturday, Swedish time.
Then the group's fifth team, Uruguay, is waiting for Argentina.