World Cup holders Argentina will endeavour to preserve their perfect start in 2026 CONMEBOL qualifying when they welcome Uruguay to La Bombonera in Buenos Aires on Thursday night.

The visitors, meanwhile, will be looking to build on their hard-fought victory over South American giants Brazil in their most recent qualifier last month.

Match preview

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Argentina enter Thursday's contest in buoyant mood as they have won each of their last 14 international matches across all competitions, scoring 34 goals in the process; La Albiceleste have also kept eight successive clean sheets since beating France to win the World Cup in December last year.

Lionel Scaloni's side are the only South American nation who boast a 100% record from their first four CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers after beating Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay and Peru, and they subsequently sit five points clear at the top of the 10-team table.

Last month, a third-minute goal from Nicolas Otamendi was enough for Argentina to claim a narrow 1-0 win against Paraguay, five days before World Cup hero Lionel Messi netted a brace in a 2-0 away victory over Peru in their most recent fixture.

Argentina will be motivated by the prospect of moving eight points clear of second-placed Uruguay with a victory on Friday and will be keen to carry their strong form into next Wednesday's showdown with Brazil, who also sit five points adrift of Scaloni's side at present.

La Albiceleste will be confident of success against Uruguay as they are unbeaten in each of their last seven meetings with La Celeste, winning each of their last three by an aggregate score of 5-0.

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Uruguay managed to bounce back from their 2-1 loss to Ecuador in September, as they accumulated four points across two World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Brazil last month, with a 2-2 draw against the former followed by a famous 2-0 victory over the latter.

A 90th-minute penalty from Darwin Nunez salvaged a point for Uruguay against Colombia, and the Liverpool striker then inspired La Celeste to their first win over Brazil in 22 years, netting a 42nd-minute opener with a diving header before setting up Nicolas de la Cruz for a second on the 77-minute mark to help Marcelo Bielsa's side claim all three points in a game that was marred by the serious knee injury sustained by Neymar.

Two-time World Cup winners Uruguay may be sitting second in the CONMEBOL standings, but there are just three points separating them from Chile in eight place, and they can ill-afford to let their standards slip if they wish to remain in the automatic qualification spots heading into the New Year.

Argentina-born boss Bielsa, who has won four of his opening six games in charge of Uruguay since May, will be keen to rectify his side's away form as they have only won two of their last nine World Cup qualifiers, conceding at least twice on five of those occasions.

The last time that Uruguay celebrated success over Argentina was in October 2013 when they claimed a 3-2 home win in a World Cup qualifier, while their last triumph on Argentine soil was back in July 1987 when they secured a slender 1-0 victory in the Copa America playoffs before lifting the title.

Team News

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Mallorca's Spanish-born right-back Pablo Maffeo and Olympiacos left-back Francisco Ortega have both received their maiden international call-ups by Argentina, and the defensive duo are in contention to make their debuts in some capacity against Uruguay.

Just over two weeks after winning a record-extending eighth Ballon d'Or, Messi is expected to continue in attack and could be joined by Julian Alvarez and Nicolas Gonzalez, while goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez – who won the 2023 Yashin Trophy – is set to earn his 35th international cap between the sticks.

Otamendi and Cristian Romero are the most likely duo to start at centre-back, while Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister and Rodrigo De Paul seem to be Scaloni's first-choice midfield trio and all three should start again on Friday.

As for Uruguay, Bielsa could be tempted to stick with the same side that beat Brazil last time out, which would see Barcelona's Ronald Araujo joined in the back four by Nahitan Nandez, Sebastian Caceres and Mathias Olivera.

Real Madrid's Federico Valverde and Paris Saint-Germain's Manuel Ugarte are the most likely duo to start in centre-midfield, forcing 69-cap Matias Vecino to begin again as a substitute, while River Plate's Nicolas de la Cruz could retain his place in the number 10 role.

While Edinson Cavani is unavailable due to a muscle injury, Uruguay's all-time leading goalscorer Luis Suarez (68) has returned to the senior squad for the first time since the 2022 World Cup, and the 36-year-old Gremio striker is in contention to either replace or play alongside Nunez up front.

Argentina possible starting lineup:
E. Martinez; Molina, Romero, Otamendi, Tagliafico; Mac Allister, Fernandez, De Paul; Messi, Alvarez, Gonzalez

Uruguay possible starting lineup:
Richet; Nandez, R. Araujo, Caceres, M. Olivera; Ugarte, Valverde; Pellistri, De la Cruz, Rodriguez; Nunez

We say: Argentina 2-0 Uruguay

Argentina cannot take Uruguay lightly following their impressive win over Brazil last time out, but the world champions will be regarded as favourites for Friday's contest.

Scaloni seems to have settled on a side that has enjoyed plenty of success over the last 12 months and with star man Messi set to lead his nation out once again, we believe that the hosts should have few problems claiming all three points.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.

Written by
Oliver Thomas

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