Overview
Argentina received bad news right before the FIFA Days in March 2025 when captain Lionel Messi was absent due to a muscle injury.
The lack of a spiritual and professional leader like Messi will be a big loss for Argentina, especially when they have to face a difficult match schedule. The reigning World Cup champions will face two regional arch-rivals, Uruguay and Brazil.
Argentina's form in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers is relatively stable. They are leading the league with 5 points more than the team behind, with the best attack (21 goals) and the 2nd best defense (7 goals conceded).
However, Argentina's form has declined somewhat in recent times with only 2 wins, 1 draw and 2 losses. With the absence of Messi, Argentina's strength will continue to decline. Therefore, the upcoming series of matches will contain many risks for coach Lionel Scaloni's team.
Meanwhile, Uruguay is closely following Argentina on the rankings. If they win in the next match, coach Marcelo Bielsa's team will shorten the gap to 2 points, thereby increasing the hope of winning the top spot. With home advantage and an opponent without their best force, this is an opportunity for Uruguay to beat Argentina.
Uruguay has a muscular and strong midfield with the likes of Valverde, Bentancur and Ugarte. They will certainly cause many difficulties for Argentina's technical midfielders but physically weak.
In the most recent meeting, Uruguay used high-level pressing to defeat Argentina away. Therefore, in the upcoming match, Uruguay has reason to believe in 3 points.
Personnel situation
Unlike Argentina, Uruguay have almost no significant injury losses. They will be able to field the strongest squad to aim for 3 points.
On the other side of the front line, the away team will be without captain and brightest star Messi due to injury, while Paulo Dybala will also be unable to play.
Expected lineup:
Uruguay: Rochet, Varela, Gimenez, Olivera, Saracchi, Valverde, Ugarte, Bentancur, Pellistri, Nunez, Aguirre.
Argentina: E. Martinez, Montiel, Balerdi, Otamendi, Tagliafico, De Paul, Fernandez, Mac Allister, Correa, L. Martinez, Alvarez.
The match between Uruguay and Argentina takes place at 6:30 am on March 22 (Vietnam time).
