Lionel Messi’s team hopes to equal, in their clash against Celeste, the record achieved by Loco during the 2002 World Cup in Korea and Japan.
Argentina and Uruguay meet again in the La Plata River classic. QOn the fifth date of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers, the team led by Lionel Scaloni will host the Celestes under the technical direction of Marcelo Bielsa .
The Albiceleste arrive at this stage with a clear advantage. After the first four days, the team that has Lionel Messi as the main character accumulates the same number of victories and remains undefeated with seven goals for and no against.
Exactly in second place, and with five units less, appears Uruguay. This difference is what Lionel Scaloni will try to take advantage of to extend his domination in this elimination phase and also be able to equal a record that so far belongs to Marcelo Bielsa.
If Argentina obtains all three points this Thursday, it will equal the best start to the Qualifiers since the start of the competition to reach Korea and Japan 2022 with the Rosario player in charge of the process. .
At that time, Argentina beat Chile (4-1), Venezuela (4-0), Bolivia (1-0), Colombia (3-1) and Ecuador (2-0), a streak which ended on the sixth day when Brazil won 3-1. Scaloni now accumulates victories against Ecuador (1-0), Bolivia (3-0), Paraguay (1-0) and Peru (2-0). If they win against Celeste, they will have to look for the best record against Brazil at the Maracaná.
Messi, the great threat
As the match approaches, Marcelo Bielsa commented at a press conference what he expects from this duel. “Argentina has been playing the same way for a long time, with the same style. We will try to play, they will try to play. Neither team rules out devoting a lot of dedication and importance to recovering the ball. “, he declared on the occasion.
“I can’t imagine Argentina not trying to manage the ball and I can’t imagine Uruguay not trying to avoid it with great dedication. If we only think about defending, that’s the shortest way to abandon the game as lost, I’m sure. “If you play defense against a rival like Argentina, with a predominantly defensive approach, the chances of success are very low,” added El Loco .
On the other hand, he said that one of his main concerns was Lionel Messi. “There is no foolproof method or formula for scoring it. I think there’s no way . And for the good of football, it’s better that it stays that way. “We will have to ask him what will be appropriate to prevent him from playing.”
“There is no coach who, before playing against Messi, is not asked the same thing: how to stop him. It’s the best in the world and no formula was effective. There is no method or procedure that is sufficiently effective. THe’s also played games in which he didn’t shine, but not because a foolproof formula was found. “he added.
“The questions they asked all of us coaches didn’t add anything. And it is better that it be so for the good of football “, hill.
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Source: Latercera
I’m Scott Moore, a professional writer and journalist based in the US. I’ve been writing for various publications for over 8 years now, and have been working as an author at athletistic for the past five years. My work has been featured by some of the leading sports websites and magazines across Europe.
