Argentina vs Bolivia

Estadio Monumental is the venue as Argentina and Bolivia go head-to-head in a ‘David vs Goliath’ 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.

Lionel Messi’s heavily anticipated return to the Argentina squad following a disappointing 2-1 defeat to Colombia last month didn’t go as planned, with Venezuela holding the reigning world champions to a 1-1 draw at the weekend. Lionel Scaloni’s overachievers sit atop the CONMEBOL qualifying group despite dropping eight points across their last five World Cup qualifiers (W2, D1, L2). However, their lead on second-placed Colombia is fragile, with only three points separating the sides ahead of the kick-off. Therefore, Bolivia’s upcoming visit to Buenos Aires looks well-timed, considering Scaloni has defeated them in all four previous H2Hs in charge of ‘La Albiceleste.’ On top of that, Argentina’s mighty record across their last 17 World Cup home qualifiers (W11, D5, L1) suggests an immediate return to winning ways is on the cards.

On the other hand, Bolivia will touch down at River Plate’s home ground, seeking damage control after losing their last three encounters against Argentina by three-goal margins. The visitors’ hopes of qualifying for their first World Cup finals since 1994 are alive and kicking after a superb three-match winning run, bookended by a 1-0 home win against Colombia last time out, propelled them to sixth in the standings. However, none of Bolivia’s five H2H wins against Argentina have come away from La Paz, highlighting the scale of the task awaiting them this week. Despite toppling Chile 2-1 on their last road trip, that victory barely served to halt their humiliating 51-game winless run of World Cup qualifiers on the road in the 21st century (D7, L44).