Argentina will look to begin their defense of their World Cup title with another win as they visit Bolivia. The world champions are seeking to build on their triumph over Ecuador on Thursday. The hosts must recover from a crushing loss to Brazil.
Preview (Bolivia vs. Argentina)
Bolivia has a chance to make the finals for the third time in their history thanks to the 48-team World Cup. They were given two challenging opening matches against international powerhouses Brazil and Argentina. It did little to aid their chances of qualifying for their first World Cup finals participation since 1994. After a disappointing performance against the five-time World Cup champions Brazil, who won 5-1 with to goals from Rodrygo and Neymar in addition to Raphinha’s second-half goal, their qualification campaign got off to a bad start.
La Verde will enter the match against the world champions as a huge underdog after losing their past five qualifiers. Despite winning their third World Cup in December after defeating France on penalties in the final, Argentina’s drive has not diminished. Since winning the grand prize in Qatar, La Albiceleste has won five straight matches by a cumulative score of 14-0. Argentina’s most recent victory came against Ecuador on Thursday in Buenos Aires. Lionel Messi displayed a moment of brilliance to curl a free-kick past goalkeeper Hernan Galindez in the 78th minute. This victory gave Argentina a perfect start to their qualifying campaign.
Argentina’s unbeaten streak now stands at 11 games thanks to Messi’s golden touch. Their only loss in the previous 48 games was a 1-0 loss to Saudi Arabia. Argentina has won seven of their last eight meetings with Bolivia. This includes their most recent match in September 2021. It was an easy 3-0 victory thanks to a Messi hat-trick. Argentina will be optimistic that their current success will continue on Tuesday.
Team News
Abrego may have to settle for a spot among the substitutes despite coming off the bench to score Bolivia’s lone goal in Friday’s crushing loss since veteran striker Marcelo Moreno is expected to keep his starting spot. Guillermo Viscarra, the goalkeeper, may have his work cut out for him. The back five of Diego Medina, Jairo Quinteros, Adrian Jusino, Marcelo Suarez, and Roberto Fernandez should provide him with some defense. Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni may decide to start Messi on the bench for the visitors. The 36-year-old suffered an injury in the close victory over Ecuador.
There were worries about Cristian Romero’s health as well, but the Tottenham Hotspur defender is anticipated to be ready to replace Nicolas Otamendi in the center of defense. Even if Messi doesn’t start on Tuesday, Argentina has a wealth of elite players who should show too strong for a Bolivia team that is lacking confidence after suffering a crushing 5-1 loss to Brazil.
Bolivia 0 – 3 Argentina
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