During the international break, things get hot not only in the European Nations League, but also in the World Cup qualification for the 2026 games. World champions Argentina lost.
World champion Argentina, with captain Lionel Messi, suffered its third defeat in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
The Albiceleste lost to hosts Paraguay 1:2 (1:1) in Asunción. The Argentines remain first in the table with 22 points. However, Colombia can equalize on points with a win against Uruguay on Saturday night in Germany.
The defeat also caused trouble in other ways, after the guests had taken the lead through Lautaro Martínez in the eleventh minute. Antonio Sanabria equalized just eight minutes later with an overhead kick. Shortly after the break, Omar Alderete scored to give Paraguay victory.
Alderete had already received a yellow card in the first half before stopping Messi a few minutes later when he dropped his leg and the Argentine fell over it. Another yellow card, which Messi and coach Lionel Scaloni called for, was not given by Brazilian referee Anderson Daronco.
On Tuesday (local time) Brazil will face Uruguay in their final qualifying game this year.
“I can say a lot of things, but it doesn’t make sense because it would seem like an excuse,” Scaloni said: “I don’t want people to take it as an excuse. We all saw what happened on the pitch…”
However, it was the second defeat in the last four qualifying games for the Argentines. Most recently, Scaloni’s team had once again dispatched Bolivia 6-0.
Arch-rivals and record world champions Brazil couldn’t get beyond a draw before Argentina’s defeat against Venezuela. National coach Dorival Júnior’s team missed their third win in a row with a 1-1 (1-0) away win. Real Madrid star Vinicius Júnior missed a penalty at the Estadio Monumental de Maturín.
The draw on matchday eleven saw Brazil jump to third place with 17 points in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in the USA, Canada and Mexico. The first six of ten teams qualify directly for the finals, the seventh-placed team has to go into relegation.
Everyone has the right to go through a difficult time, there is the physical aspect and the psychological aspect
Didier Deschamps on Kylian Mbappé
France’s national coach Didier Deschamps has emphasized that the renewed waiver of Kylian Mbappé is not a sanction. After the 0-0 draw against Israel in the Stade de France near Paris, the coach of the Équipe tricolore explained that they would not be taken into account for the games in the Nations League on Thursday and next Sunday in Italy: “Everyone has the right to go through a difficult time gives the physical and the psychological aspect.”
Since Mbappé’s move from Paris Saint-Germain to Real Madrid before this season, things have not been going well for the 2018 world champion. The captain had already missed the international matches against Israel (4:1) and Belgium (2:1) in October. He had previously been injured, but was back in action for Real.
He is going through a phase in his career that is not the happiest. I stand behind him
Deschamps on Mbappé
In addition, there were media reports about investigations into a rape in Sweden, which Mbappé is defending himself against. “He knows that he has absolutely nothing to blame himself for,” his lawyer Marie-Alix Canu-Bernard told broadcaster TF1. He announced that he would file a complaint for defamation or making a trumped-up crime.
Deschamps reiterated after the game against Israel that Mbappé wanted to join the national team. “But I think it’s better for him at the moment,” said the 56-year-old. He had also previously emphasized that the waiver had nothing to do with the non-sporting headlines. Mbappé is in a complicated situation. “He is going through a phase in his career that is not the happiest,” said Deschamps and assured: “I stand behind him.”
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