World champions Argentina resume their quest to qualify for the 2026 World Cup when they face Chile at Estadio Mas Monumental in Buenos Aires on Thursday (local time).
While La Albiceleste sit top of the South American standings after six matches, La Roja are down in eighth place, two points behind the qualification spots.
Match preview
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Argentina will take to the pitch in front of their own fans for the first time since retaining their Copa America title in July, beating Colombia 1-0 after extra time to win South America's most prestigious prize for an unprecedented 16th time.
Lionel Scaloni, who boasts a 71.4% win rate in charge of La Albiceleste, has now successfully steered his country to glory at three successive major tournaments and they are on course to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after making a strong start in CONMEBOL qualifying.
Indeed, Argentina sit top of the South American standings and two points clear of second-placed Uruguay after winning five of their opening six qualifiers, securing maximum points against Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru and most recently Brazil, beating the latter 1-0 away from home in November last year.
Argentina suffered their only defeat in qualifying just five days earlier when they were beaten 2-0 by Uruguay - one of only two defeats in 62 matches across all competitions since July 2019.
Ranked first in the world by FIFA, Argentina can strengthen their grip on top spot with a victory over Thursday's opponents Chile, whom they most recently beat by a 1-0 scoreline in the Copa America group stage this summer.
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Chile are bidding to qualify for their first World Cup since 2014, but they have not made an ideal start to CONMEBOL qualifying, losing three, drawing two and winning just one of their opening six matches.
La Roja's solitary win was a 2-0 success over Peru on matchday three and they have since picked up just one point from their last three qualifiers, most recently losing 1-0 away against Ecuador in November last year.
Eduardo Berizzo resigned shortly after that defeat and has since been replaced by Argentinian Ricardo Gareca, who has won two, drawn two and lost two of his opening six games in charge.
Chile, who were once ranked as high as third in the world by FIFA in 2016, but have since slipped to 43rd in the current standings, crashed out in the Copa America group stage for the first time in two decades after they could only collect one point from three matches over the summer.
Gareca and co are determined to put things right and turn their fortunes around, although success on Thursday could prove challenging as they have failed to win any of their previous 13 meetings with Argentina in all competitions since a narrow 1-0 victory in World Cup qualifying in October 2008.
Team News
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Argentina will be without legendary attacker Lionel Messi as he continues to recover from the ankle injury he sustained during the Copa America final, while Scaloni has revealed that Alexis Mac Allister was "in pain" after pulling up with an unspecified issue in training and is therefore unlikely to feature against Chile.
Defenders Nicolas Tagliafico and Leonardo Balerdi are both ruled out through injury, while Angel Di Maria and Franco Armani have both retired from international football.
The absence of Tagliafico has left Argentina light in the left-back department, with two-cap Valentin Barco - on loan at Sevilla from Brighton & Hove Albion - the only natural left-back option in Scaloni's squad.
In the absence of Messi and Di Maria, Scaloni could select one of Nicolas Gonzalez, Alejandro Garnacho or Paulo Dybala to start alongside Julian Alvarez and Copa America Golden Boot winner Lautaro Martinez in attack.
As for Chile, 41-year-old goalkeeper Claudio Bravo has retired from international football, while Alexis Sanchez and Diego Valdes are both ruled out through injury.
The likes of Arturo Vidal, Gary Medel and Francisco Sierralta have all been left out of Gareca's squad, while the only uncapped player is Swansea City's London-born goalkeeper Lawrence Vigouroux, who is set to provide competition for Gabriel Arias and Brayan Cortes.
Erick Pulgar could join Marcelino Nunez and Rodrigo Echeverria in centre-midfield, while Eduardo Vargas and Ben Brereton Diaz are expected to link up in the final third.
Argentina possible starting lineup:
E. Martinez; Molina, Romero, Li. Martinez, Barco; De Paul, Fernandez, Lo Celso; Gonzalez, La. Martinez, Alvarez
Chile possible starting lineup:
Arias; Isla, Lichnovsky, Maripan, Mena; Nunez, Pulgar, Echeverria; Osorio, Vargas, Brereton Diaz
We say: Argentina 2-0 Chile
Despite the absence of Messi, Argentina will be regarded as firm favourites to come out on top against Chile, who themselves are missing a few key players. The defending world champions possess a squad filled with talent and they should have few problems securing a routine victory on home soil.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
Argentina
Uruguay
Ecuador
Colombia
Brazil
Paraguay
Bolivia
Venezuela
Chile
Peru
