Qualifying for the 2026 World Cup continues in South America this week, including the meeting between Argentina and Uruguay.
The match will be played on the 16th of November at La Bombonera, Buenos Aires, and the hosts begin this round of fixtures top of the table on 12 points while the visitors are in second place on 7 points.
#SelecciónMayor Entrenamos y también la pasamos bien en nuestra Casa 😍¡Vamos #Argentina! 🇦🇷💙 pic.twitter.com/GcokqNNoRc— 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) November 13, 2023
#SelecciónMayor Entrenamos y también la pasamos bien en nuestra Casa 😍¡Vamos #Argentina! 🇦🇷💙 pic.twitter.com/GcokqNNoRc
Argentina come into the match having beat Peru 2-0 away from home in 2026 World Cup qualifying. Lionel Messi was once again the hero for the World Cup holders and he opened the scoring in the 32nd minute and added a second goal shortly before half time.
The victory over Peru means Argentina have won each of their last 14 games in all competitions. That run includes the penalty shootout success over France in the 2022 World Cup final in Qatar. Since then, Argentina have won 8 matches, 4 of which were friendlies and 4 in 2026 World Cup qualifying.
The World Cup qualifying wins came over Ecuador and Paraguay at home plus Bolivia and Peru away.
Trends show Argentina are unbeaten in their last 25 World Cup qualification games. They have won 7 of their last 8 home World Cup qualifiers and have been excellent defensively.
Argentina have kept a clean sheet in each of their last 8 home World Cup qualifying fixtures and have seen under 2.5 goals in 5 of their last 6 on home soil.
Uruguay travel to Buenos Aires on the back of a good 2-0 home victory over Brazil in 2026 World Cup qualifying. Uruguay scored the opening goal in the 42nd minute to lead 1-0 at the interval and sealed maximum points with a second goal 13 minutes from time.
The win over Brazil means Uruguay are undefeated in 8 of their last 9 matches in all competitions.
Since the 2022 World Cup, there have been wins over Korea Republic, Nicaragua, and Cuba in friendly matches plus Chile and Brazil at home in 2026 World Cup qualifying. However, Uruguay lost 2-1 in Ecuador and were held to a 2-2 in Colombia in 2026 World Cup qualification.
Trends show Uruguay are undefeated in 7 of their 8 most recent World Cup qualifiers but they have recorded only 2 victories from their last 8 away World Cup qualifying games.
Looking ahead to the team news and Argentina can call upon Lionel Messi, Lautaro Martínez, Julián Álvarez, Ángel Di María, and Paulo Dybala in attack. Enzo Fernández will play in central midfield and the experienced Nicolás Otamendi should start at centre back.
Uruguay have experienced striker Luis Suárez in their ranks and he could be joined by Darwin Núñez in attack.
The highly rated Manuel Ugarte will be joined by Federico Valverde in midfield, with José Giménez starting in central defence.
This is going to be a tough encounter, with little in the way of goals. Argentina have shown they mean business in the defence of their World Cup trophy and have been excellent in defence.
Just a single goal could be enough for Argentina to win this match and take early command of the table.