Argentina will look to officially secure their place at World Cup 2026 when they face rivals Brazil in Tuesday’s clash at Estadio Mas Monumental in Buenos Aires.
Lionel Scaloni‘s side are leading the standings with 28 points, while the Selecao are seven points adrift in third position.
Match preview
© Imago
Argentina have not officially qualified for next year’s World Cup, but their place is all but secured after they fought hard to take maximum points in Friday’s clash with Uruguay despite being without Lionel Messi due to injury.
Thiago Almada, who is on loan at Lyon from Botafogo, produced a stunning strike in the second half in Montevideo to seal a narrow 1-0 victory with his third international goal, bringing an end to Argentina’s three-game winless away run in World Cup qualifying.
Argentina currently enjoy a three-point lead at the top of the South American qualification section, having won nine, drawn one and lost three of their 13 qualifiers, scoring 22 goals during that period and conceding on just seven occasions.
The 2022 World Cup winners will now be fully focused on Tuesday’s mouthwatering encounter against their old foes Brazil, with the hosts looking to extend their four-game unbeaten run in head-to-head meetings (W3, D1).
That impressive record includes a narrow 1-0 victory in the reverse qualifying fixture back in November 2023 when Nicolas Otamendi scored the decisive goal to clinch all three points a the Maracana in Rio de Janeiro.
La Albiceleste will certainly take confidence from the fact they have won seven of their previous eight home games in World Cup qualifying (L1), while they have kept 11 clean sheets in their last 12 qualifiers on home soil.
© Imago
Brazil are on course to continue their 100% record of World Cup finals appearances despite experiencing a sluggish start to their qualifying campaign, which saw them win one, draw one and lose four of their first six matches.
The Selecao have since proven to be a tougher team to beat, having put together a five-game unbeaten run in qualifying, including back-to-back victories over Chile and Peru in the October international window.
They then had to settle for draws against Venezuela and Uruguay in November, before they returned to winning ways in Thursday’s dramatic home clash against Colombia.
The five-time world champions looked set to play out three consecutive 1-1 draws after Luis Diaz cancelled out Raphinha‘s early penalty, however, Vinicius Junior produced a strike from distance in the 99th minute to snatch all three points with Brazil’s latest winner since Casemiro‘s effort against Colombia in the 2021 Copa America.
Having collected 21 points from 13 matches, Brazil will travel to Argentina in third place in the standings and eight points clear of Bolivia in the inter-confederation playoff place.
However, the Selecao have only won one of their last five away qualifiers (D1, L3), which will not inspire confidence as they look to beat Argentina for the first time since they recorded a 2-0 win in the 2019 Copa America semi-finals.
Team News
© Imago
Argentina are having to cope without their all-time record goalscorer after Messi was left out of the squad due to an adductor injury he picked up in his most recent outing for Inter Miami.
Inter Milan’s Lautaro Martinez and Roma’s Paulo Dybala are also among Argentina’s injury absentees, while Nico Gonzalez is suspended after being shown a straight red card in the closing stages of the win against Uruguay.
Rodrigo De Paul was not deemed to be 100% fit for the trip to Montevideo and was not risked in a bid to give him valuable rest ahead of the clash against Brazil.
Roma’s Leandro Paredes is likely to drop down to the bench if De Paul proves he is fit to start for Tuesday’s home fixture.
As for the visitors, they came into the international period without goalkeeper Ederson and forward Neymar due to their respective injury issues.
Liverpool’s Alisson Becker and Flamengo’s Gerson have pulled out of the squad after they were forced off in Thursday’s win over Colombia.
Bento is set to make his third international start in Alisson’s absence, while Andre could replace Gerson in the middle of the park.
Defender Leo Ortiz and midfielder Joelinton look set to replace Gabriel Magalhaes and Bruno Guimaraes, who are suspended after they picked up their second yellow cards of qualifying in Thursday’s home outing.
Argentina possible starting lineup:
Martinez; Molina, Romero, Otamendi, Tagliafico; De Paul, Mac Allister; Simeone, Fernandez, Almada; Alvarez
Brazil possible starting lineup:
Bento; Vanderson, Marquinhos, Ortiz, Arana; Joelinton, Andre, Rodrygo, Raphinha, Vinicius; Pedro
We say: Argentina 1-1 Brazil
Argentina will surely be favourites for Tuesday’s contest given their impressive record on home turf, but while we do not expect them to lose against their arch-rivals, we think Brazil will do enough to hold the hosts to a point, considering they have avoided defeat in each of their last five qualifiers.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
