South American World Cup qualifying: Can anybody catch Argentina?

Because the South American World Cup qualifiers kick off, all eyes flip to Argentina, the reigning world champions. With Lionel Messi nonetheless main the cost, can La Albiceleste keep their dominance?

Tim Vickery delves into the challenges and prospects of every CONMEBOL nation.

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– Go to ESPN’s South American WCQ homepage

Performs at residence to Ecuador on Thursday, then away to Bolivia subsequent Tuesday

The world champions are the one workforce within the discipline whose coach has been in cost for an prolonged time frame. Lionel Scaloni started his extraordinary five-year reign as a stand-in and ended up taking the workforce to glory in Qatar, efficiently constructing a workforce round Messi. Will Messi nonetheless be round in 2026? It’s quickly to say, however he’s definitely nonetheless round now, the centrepiece of a facet which can now endure a gradual transition, the place Nicolás Otamendi (absolutely) and Ángel Di María (probably) can be discarded alongside the way in which.

The beginning is just not straightforward. Tuesday’s journey to the intense altitude of La Paz is a nightmare, and Ecuador’s physicality might present some issues for the house defence in Buenos Aires on Thursday. However, whereas virtually all their rivals seem like in a state of flux and frenzy, Argentina can put together to defend their title in relative tranquillity.

Performs at residence to Chile on Friday, then away to Ecuador on Tuesday

New head coach Marcelo Bielsa’s “my manner or the freeway” strategy is already inflicting ripples, with the controversial absences of Edinson Cavani and Luis Suárez. Predictably, Bielsa has gone with a younger squad, a dynamic group of gamers with the lung energy to hold out his high-octane type of play. It’s an fascinating match — Uruguay’s Underneath-20 workforce have been a constant provider of expertise for the senior ranks, and within the likes of Federico Valverde and Darwin Núñez there may be loads of high quality uncooked materials for Bielsa to work with. However the workforce will clearly be undercooked. Bielsa used his solely two video games up to now — friendlies in June — to take a look at fringe gamers. His Uruguay facet may want a while to take form, however they may definitely be price watching.

Performs away to Argentina on Thursday, then at residence to Uruguay on Tuesday

Ecuador go into the marketing campaign three factors behind everybody else — a punishment handed out for suspicions concerning the paperwork of right-back Byron Castillo within the Qatar qualifiers. They’ve gone with a Spanish coach, Felix Sanchez, who was in command of Qatar within the earlier World Cup cycle. The match is clear. Sanchez shares the same philosophy to Independiente del Valle, the extraordinary little membership which is producing so many gamers for the nationwide workforce. The brand new man has loads of expertise to work with, though the workforce stay depending on veteran striker Enner Valencia for objectives. Sanchez seems to have bedded in a 3 centre-back formation, liberating the facet to assault down the flanks. Fast, robust and athletic, not many sides will relish dealing with Ecuador — particularly on the altitude of Quito.

Performs away to Paraguay on Thursday, then at residence to Brazil on Tuesday

After performing with credit score in Russia 2018 and narrowly lacking out on Qatar, these are worrying occasions for Peru. The membership recreation is in a foul manner — within the final 11 years no Peruvian facet has made it out of the group part within the Copa Libertadores — and there’s a dearth of younger expertise to switch a era which has been punching above its weight in latest occasions. They’ve turned to former nationwide workforce captain Juan Reynoso to teach the facet. An imposing centre-back in his day and a strong-minded coach, Reynoso would appear to be a good selection, however he has little to work with, and plenty of accidents to his defenders will make life tougher in these opening two rounds. Peru’s conventional robust kind at residence can be important to their possibilities.

Performs at residence to Venezuela on Thursday, then away to Chile on Tuesday

Colombia have been the largest disappointments within the Qatar marketing campaign. After two consecutive good World Cups, they missed out on 2022 — at one level going a scarcely plausible seven straight video games with out scoring. Now they’ve turned to Nestor Lorenzo, an assistant coach throughout the good occasions, and he has made a superb begin — two attracts and 6 wins, together with a morale boosting triumph away to Germany final outing. The ambiance of Colombian soccer is often turbulent, and there are all the time rows and controversies concerning the name ups. However Los Cafeteros can look ahead to this marketing campaign with appreciable confidence. With the growth of the event, it could be really exceptional if such a proficient group have been to overlook out on a second consecutive World Cup.

Performs at residence to Bolivia on Friday, then away to Peru on Tuesday

Whereas Brazil await the — unconfirmed — arrival of Carlo Ancelotti subsequent yr, Fernando Diniz takes over the workforce on a short lived foundation. There are excessive hopes that this unorthodox thinker is perhaps a very good match for the nationwide workforce, however he’s hampered by a scarcity of preparation time — he met his gamers for the primary time this week — and the burdens of Brazil’s crowded membership calendar, since his day job is teaching Fluminense in Rio.

There must be loads of last-minute improvisation. It had been thought that this is able to begin a cycle the place Vinícius Júnior can be the principle attacking weapon. However he’s injured, there are doubts about Neymar‘s health and Lucas Paquetá and Antony have each needed to be ignored, with the latter launched from worldwide responsibility after the Brazil Soccer Confederation (CBF) cited home violence allegations “which should be investigated.”

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Performs away to Uruguay on Friday, then at residence to Colombia on Tuesday

Chile kick off this week with coach Eduardro Berizzo assembly his former mentor Bielsa. However Berizzo is at a transparent drawback: The place Uruguay have a conveyor belt of expertise coming by way of, the Chilean manufacturing line has been spluttering for years. The important thing gamers stay the veterans who got here by way of the 2007 Underneath-20 facet and went on to win the Copa America in 2015 and 2016 — Alexis Sánchez, Arturo Vidal, Gary Medel, and different veterans comparable to Charles Aránguiz and Erick Pulgar. Chile appeared to expire of steam some years in the past, and exhausting although Berizzo is wanting, new top-class names aren’t rising. Berizzo has forged the web large, calling up 45 gamers. If Chile are to make the reduce, among the children are going to need to develop up rapidly.

Performs at residence to Peru on Thursday, then away to Venezuela on Tuesday

Since reaching the quarterfinals for the primary time in 2010, Paraguay have endured three very poor qualification campaigns, however have loads of religion that this time they will get it proper. Coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto — yet one more Argentine — was in cost for the previous few rounds of the Qatar qualifiers and concludes that the expertise has given him a a lot better perception into the Paraguayan mindset. And the Premier League fireworks of Miguel Almirón and Julio Enciso give rise to a religion that scoring objectives can be much less of an issue this time spherical, though Enciso will miss the opening two rounds with harm. However with a bit of little bit of attacking aptitude to go along with the legendary Paraguayan preventing spirit, the nation can be very disillusioned to overlook out for a fourth time in a row.

Performs away to Brazil on Friday, at residence to Argentina on Tuesday

Home Bolivian soccer is in absolute disaster, with this yr’s event annulled due to a match manipulation scandal. The nationwide workforce, nonetheless, may very well be the principle beneficiary of the growth of the World Cup. It is because Bolivia decide up so many factors of their mountain fortress, on the excessive altitude of La Paz, that there’s all the time an opportunity of constructing the reduce. Coach Gustavo Costas is an fascinating selection. He has by no means been glamorous, however throughout the continent his groups have all the time been aggressive. Not seen on the World Cup since their golden era went to USA 94, Bolivia have a good chance of returning to the limelight when the USA, Canada and Mexico host the World Cup in 2026.

Performs away to Colombia on Thursday, then residence to Paraguay on Tuesday

The one South American workforce to not have appeared at a World Cup, Venezuela are assured of constructing their debut in 2026. True, there was the same feeling within the build-up to the Qatar qualifiers, when the era that reached the ultimate of the 2017 Underneath-20 World Cup appeared able to step up. However every thing went fallacious final time — particularly the truth that the pandemic dominated key centre-forward Salomon Rondon out of a lot of the early rounds. One drawback is that Rondon may now be previous his greatest, however Venezuelan soccer continues to supply fascinating expertise, and outcomes underneath new coach Fernando Batista have been encouraging up to now. A great begin is important to morale, and in the event that they decide up early factors then a World Cup debut would seem effectively inside Venezuela’s grasp.