Argentina - Uruguay, live online: Messi, score, stats & updates | CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers
Argentina - Uruguay: live updates
Less than half an hour to go!
Here is a reminder of the starting XIs of each side:
ARGENTINA
Martínez; Molina, Otamendi, Romero, Tagliafico; De Paul, Enzo, Mac Allister; Messi, Álvarez, González
Manager: Lionel Scaloni
URUGUAY
Rochet; Araujo, Cáceres, Olivera, Viña; Fede, De la Cruz, Ugarte; Pellistri, Núñez, Araújo
Manager: Marcelo Bielsa
Ocampos misses out due to injury:
Reports say that Lucas Ocampos has missed out on today's squad as he has suffered an injury.
Dibu MartÃnez is on the pitch
The Premier League goalkeeper has already started his pre-match warmup ahead of the rest of the squad.
Lionel Scaloni pre-Game press conference:
It’s going to be a tough game. We know how BIelsa’s sides set up and we know the culture of football that the country has, but we have to impose our style on the game, that’s our idea.
After that there will be nuances where they have their strengths and we will try to make sure that doesn’t happen in this game.
The idea is not to change things and if we have to correct things then we will. This team showed that they are ready to play against anyone.
The team are ready for when the time comes for us to be dominated on the pitch. We have to be ready for that.
How things have gone for Argentina:
Argentina are top of the tree heading into the festive period as they currently sit on 12 points from 12 and carry on their perfect record on the pitch.
They beat Ecuador 1-0 thanks to Messi, thrashed Bolivia 3-0 without him, got past Paraguay 1-0 and overcame Peru 2-0 thanks to a double from the Inter Miami man.
The Inter Miami man starts tonight, so it's definitely on the cards that he keeps that fantastic scoring run going in a blue and white shirt.
| T | MP | W | D | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 ARG | 12 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
2 VEN | 8 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
3 URU | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
4 BRA | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
5 COL | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
ARGENTINA TEAM NEWS
Messi captains the side!
JUAN IGNACIO RONCORONI / EFE
Where is the game being played?
La Bombonera of Boca Juniors is without a doubt one of the most iconic stadiums in the world.
The official name of the ground is actually Estadio Alberto J. Armando, and was opened back in 1940.
It has held Copa América Games, World Cup qualifiers, and 11 Copa Libertadores finals: the 54,000fans make a huge noise and Uruguay have a huge task ahead of them if they want to get anything from tonight.
SOCCER
Argentina predicted lineup vs Uruguay: will Messi play?
Lionel Scaloni's side face a huge challenge against Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay - will Messi play at La Bombonera?
A great question, thanks for asking.
While we wait on the Argentina team news, here is how we think the Albiceleste will line up against Uruguay.
SERGIO MORAES / REUTERS
Who's the ref?
Wilmar Roldán is the lucky chap who is in charge of the whistle and the cards for today’s tie.
The Colombian 43-year-old is a seasoned veteran and was ranked the World's 7th Best Referee of 2015 by the IFFHS and made the final list of referees for both the 2014 and 2018 World Cups.
Last season he took charge of over 10 Copa Libertadores games and the eagle-eyed among you will have seen him crop up during the Saudi Pro League game between Al-Raed and Al-Nassr (Mané, Talisca and Cristiano Ronaldo scored in a 1-3 win, in case you were wondering).
In other South American news:
Venezuela and Ecuador are currently drawing 0-0 at half-time in their game.
URUGUAY TEAM NEWS
Josema Giménez is the big name not included as Bielsa names his starting XI.
Uruguay are on their way to the stadium!
The two-time world champions have left the team hotel and are making their way to La Bombonera for the game, which kicks off in around an hour.
MLS
David Beckham: “Messi is a gift for the United States and the MLS”
While we wait on the news of whether Messi will start the game or not, his boss David Beckham has been speaking about the impact of the Argentine in the USA, the country where he currently plays football.
Messi's impact has been seismic in the United States and his arrival in the country to join MLS and Inter Miami is without a doubt a turning point for the sport in the country, with many people turning on their TV sets to watch the World Cup winner in action.
David Beckham explained the reasons for Inter Miami's decision to sign Lionel Messi, saying that he wanted to inspire young people in the United States to play soccer.
“It’s still hard to believe that when someone turns around to me and says Inter Miami have Lionel Messi in their team, you know. It’s a very proud thing for me to have as an owner, to have a player like that, the best player in the world, in our team."
“We always knew that bringing Leo to America, not just to Miami, it was our gift to America and MLS. Because someone like that changes the Game. You know, someone like that inspires another generation of soccer players. And that’s why we wanted to bring Leo to the team."
Read more...
Here's the record between the two sides:
At the moment, it's Argentina with the huge historical advantage over their opponents, and it will take a lot of years for the Uruguayans to overtake them.
Starting today would be a good time to do so, and with Bielsa at the helm of a team that includes Fede Valverde, Luis Suárez and Darwin Núñez, who knows what could happen...
Argentina, after 195 games, have 91 wins and 46draws, with Uruguay totting up 58wins in that time.
ANDRES CUENCA / REUTERS
How things are going for Uruguay...
The Uruguayans have a new coach, Marcelo Bielsa, and his first competitive game in charge saw his side run away 3-1 against Chile. After that, they lost against Ecuador before drawing 2-2 with Colombia.
However, a huge result was to come as they beat Brazil 2-0 in a historic match, their first victory against the side for 22 years.
Is Messi going to start against Uruguay?
Here's the latest update on Lionel Messi's fitness and whether or not I think he'll start against Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay.
The stadium looks beautiful ahead of kick-off
The Bombonera is one of the world's great stadiums and is the perfect venue for such a fascinating tie between two top sides in South America.
How the table looks:
As you can see from the table, it’s Lionel Scaloni’s side who lead the way in the qualification group with a 100%record so far after4games played.
They’ve scored 7 goals in those 4 Games and are yet to concede a single goal so far in what continues to be a simply stunning run of results since their World Cup win almost a year ago.
As for Uruguay, they are one of three teams on 7 points and sit joint-second behind the Albiceleste.
The 8 goals they’ve scored puts them marginally ahead of Brazil and Venezuela and into a fantastic position in this notoriously tricky qualification round.
| T | MP | W | D | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1ARG | 12 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2URU | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 3BRA | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 4VEN | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 5COL | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
Squad news: Uruguay
Luis Suárez is the big name that Marcelo Bielsa has included in his squad this time around.
The 36-year-old Gremio forward has been in fantastic form for his club side over recent weeks and it also looked like Bielsa would opt for another Football veteran in the shape of Cavani, although he missedout in the end due to injury.
Squad news: Argentina
The surprises in Scaloni’s squad are Maffeo, the Mallorca full-back and FranciscoOrtega, who plays for Olympiacos.
As well as these two new names, Scaloni has been able to call up both Paolo Dybala and Ángel Di María once again, who missed out last time due to injury.
Alejandro Garnacho and Ángel Correa are the two big names who miss out.
Welcome!
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening, depending on where you’re watching this, but most of all welcome to this sensational tie we’ve got in the CONMEBOL qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
It’s Joe on the buttons today and I’ve got the pleasure of talking you through the game at the fantastic La Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires as Argentina host Uruguay.
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