In the early hours of Friday morning, Argentina and Ecuador will begin their qualification campaigns for the 2026 FIFA World Cup as they meet in Buenos Aires.
Argentina will be looking to defend their title in the United States, Canada and Mexico, having won the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
#SelecciónMayor El plantel albiceleste tuvo su primera sesión de labores en el predio Lionel Andrés Messi ⚽️🇦🇷📝https://t.co/20tWBLjDhW pic.twitter.com/OEif6uCqng— 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) September 4, 2023
#SelecciónMayor El plantel albiceleste tuvo su primera sesión de labores en el predio Lionel Andrés Messi ⚽️🇦🇷📝https://t.co/20tWBLjDhW pic.twitter.com/OEif6uCqng
As for Ecuador, they are aiming to qualify for their fifth World Cup since making their tournament debut back in 2002, although they have only reached the knockout phase once.
Argentina’s last match came back in June when they claimed a 2-0 friendly victory over Indonesia, courtesy of goals from Leandro Paredes and Cristian Romero.
The world champions have played four friendlies since the turn of the year, also defeating Panama, Curacao and Australia without conceding a single goal.
Lionel Messi was the star of the show as Argentina lifted the World Cup trophy back in December, bagging seven goals and three assists in seven games in Qatar.
The little magician has also notched 11 goals and five assists in his first 11 matches for Inter Miami, which is obviously a good sign for his national team.
On the flip side, Ecuador head into this clash on the back of a 3-1 victory over Costa Rica back in June, racking up 20 shots while enjoying the lion’ share of possession.
That means Ecuador have won each of their previous three matches, with victories over Australia and Bolivia preceding the win against Costa Rica.
That said, Ecuador endured a disappointing 2022 World Cup campaign, recording one win, one draw and one loss to finish third in Group A.
It is worth noting, however, that Ecuador finished fourth in the CONMEBOL qualifying group for the 2022 World Cup, so they will be hopeful of reaching the next tournament.
Head-to-head: Argentina have won four of their last five meetings with Ecuador, scoring over 2.5 goals in three of those victories.
When you look at the bigger picture, Ecuador have only managed to win five of their 38 previous meetings with Argentina, suffering 22 losses since 1941.
Team news: Argentina have called up five uncapped players – Walter Benitez, Lucas Esquivel, Bruno Zapelli, Lucas Beltran and Alan Velasco.
Ecuador’s squad contains a couple of Premier League stars in Chelsea’s Moises Caicedo and Brighton & Hove Albion’s Pervis Estupinan.
Although Ecuador are expected to give Argentina a run for their money, the world champions shouldn’t struggle to come out on top.
Forebet predicts that Argentina will register a low-scoring victory over Ecuador, keeping a clean sheet in the process.