Argentina vs Chile

Estadio Monumental sets the stage for a tasty-looking 2026 World Cup qualifier between familiar foes Argentina and Chile.

Argentina’s quest to qualify for the 2026 World Cup resumes after their 16th Copa America triumph in the summer. A 1-0 extra-time win against Colombia in the grand final was Angel Di Maria’s last international appearance, as he retired immediately after the tournament. Decorated manager Lionel Scaloni cannot call upon the services of superstar forward Lionel Messi, with La Albiceleste bidding to extend their winning streak to 12 matches. Scaloni’s side embarked on that run after a 2-0 loss to Uruguay in their last World Cup qualifier on home soil – their first home defeat in this competition since October 2016 (W10, D5). Since all those ten victories yielded a clean sheet, Argentina’s potential opener would likely put this game beyond Chile’s reach.

The visitors take on the leaders of the South American qualifying group (W5, D1) amid another rough start to the qualification cycle (W1, D2, L3), looking to make amends for a disastrous 2024 Copa America journey. La Roja failed to make it out of the group stages, having drawn a blank in all three matches (D2, L1), intensifying the pressure on veteran head coach Ricardo Gareca. Chile will have to break their scoring drought without long-serving international Alexis Sanchez against an Argentina side they defeated in back-to-back Copa America finals in 2015 and 2016. However, they have since gone winless in all seven H2Hs (D3, L4), highlighting the size of the task awaiting them this week. Worryingly for the traveling fans, the Chileans have only won once in their last 18 matches on foreign soil (D5, L12).