South America has 4.5 tickets to the World Cup, Brazil has officially arrived in Russia next summer. Therefore, there are only 3.5 tickets left for the remaining teams to compete.
Because Argentina no longer has the right to decide for themselves, in the final match, they must beat Ecuador (the team has run out of opportunities) to have hope for Russia in the summer of 2018. From the victory in that plan (Argentina will have 28 points), Sampaoli and his team can now look forward to one of the scenarios below in the final round.
Scenario 1: Uruguay, Chile, Colombia (or Peru) all win
Uruguay only have to face the second-placed team Bolivia, so their 3-point advantage was predicted. If Uruguay loses, being behind by 9 goal difference will not help Argentina dream of being above Uruguay if this team stumbles.
Chile is 1 point ahead of Argentina and only has to meet Brazil to complete the goal. Winning is within Chile's reach because after completing the mission with the DTQG, the Brazilian stars will focus on the clubs. Therefore, Albiceleste should not expect Selecao to play their best against Chile.
The two teams ranked right above Argentina, Colombia and Peru, will have a " Amoral" match. If Colombia or Peru wins, they will join Chile and Uruguay to take the remaining 3 official tickets and push Argentina to the play-off match.
Scenario 2: Uruguay, Chile, Colombia and Peru all did not win
As in scenario 1, if Uruguay loses to Bolivia, they can rest assured because Argentina's goal is unimaginable. If they only have 1 point against their opponent, Cavani and his teammates will also "land safely" with 29 points.
As for Chile, if they draw or lose to Brazil, they will have the highest score of 27 points. At that time, with 28 " hypothetical" points in hand, Argentina will overcome Chile to win a direct ticket.
Colombia and Peru holding each other (a team losing in the first half) is what Argentina wants most. Because when they beat Ecuador, Sampaoli and his team will be more confident in their points than both teams. Thus, Argentina will be ranked 3rd or 4th in the group (depending on Chile's result). However, that was enough for a position with a ticket to Russia next summer.
If Argentina cannot beat Ecuador?
If Argentina loses, they will almost have to wave goodbye to the 2018 World Cup with their current 6th place. The opportunity now is only in the condition that if Peru loses to Colombia more goals than Argentina loses to Ecuador, Sampaoli and his team will play the play-off.
If they draw with Ecuador, Argentina will certainly not be able to take Uruguay's position against Chile regardless of the final round results. At this time, Argentina must hope in the Colombia - Peru match, one of the two teams must beat the other team very strongly in the hope of getting a ticket.
