The Argentine National Team will be back in action in the South American Qualifiers this Thursday, when it will host Chile at the Monumental Stadium at 9:00 p.m., for the seventh matchday on the road to the 2026 World Cup that will be played in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
The team led by Lionel Scaloni will meet again in front of its fans after winning the 2024 Copa América, a title that made it two-time champion of the continent and at the same time sealed the retirement of Ángel Di María from the national team. Captain Lionel Messi will also not be there, who is in the final stretch of his recovery from the ankle injury suffered in that memorable decisive match against Colombia.
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However, Fideo will be present at the stadium in Núñez, although without the shorts and the number 11 on his back, but to receive all the warmth of the thousands of Argentines who will be cheering and honouring his successful time with the National Team. The left-footed winger asked permission from Benfica to travel to the country and will arrive on the day of the match with his family. In addition to supporting his teammates, he will be honoured on the green grass of River. A plaque and an unforgettable ovation from the crowd are expected.
On this occasion, and as mentioned above, Argentina will be without its main players, Messi and Di María, the last time they played without them being in 2013, in the last round of the World Cup qualifiers in Brazil against Uruguay. In addition, they have suffered unexpected injuries, such as those of Nicolás Tagliafico and Leonardo Balerdi. In response, Marcos Acuña has recently been called up and, although he was not initially on the list, Paulo Dybala has been added to the squad.
In this international window, after the 2024 Copa América title, Scaloni seems to have started the renewal, since the list includes Valentín Barco, Equi Fernández, Matías Soulé, Giuliano Simeone, Valentín Castellanos and the usual Valentín Carboni and Alejandro Garnacho. With this, the Argentine coach seeks to consolidate the new batch together with the current champions to remain at the top of the qualifying competition, with 15 points so far.
For its part, Ricardo Gareca’s Chile urgently needs to get the three points on Argentine soil, as it has not known what it is like to win since the third round of the qualifiers. It is in eighth place in the standings with 5 points registered, being temporarily out of the qualifying zone for the upcoming World Cup.
In the last Copa América, La Roja shared Group A with Argentina, but their performance in the competition was diametrically opposed, as they were eliminated in the group stage after drawing with Peru and Canada, while against La Albiceleste they lost 1-0 with a goal from Lautaro Martínez.
Probable Formations
Argentina: Emiliano Martinez; Coach: Lionel Scaloni.
Chile: Gabriel Arias; Maurice Island, Paul Diaz, William Maripan, Eugene Husband; Rodrigo Echeverria, Eric Thumb, Victor Davila, Carlos Palacios, Darius Osorio; Ben Berenton. DT: Richard Gareca.
Time: 21.00
TV: TyC Sports
Referee: Jesus Valenzuela (VEN)
VAR: Juan Soto (VEN)
Stadium: Monumental
YOU CAN ALSO READ: Qualifiers: schedule for Argentina’s next matches
History of Argentina vs. Chile
92 parties
60 victories for Argentina
6 victories for Chile
26 draws
South American Qualifiers 2026 – Matchday 7
