Argentina meets Brazil again as road to Qatar resumes in South America
The two South American giants are set to lock horns once again in the upcoming South American world cup qualifying games.
Argentina and Brazil are playing each other in the South American world cup qualifiers. This would be the first time the two powerhouses meet each other after the Copa America final. All the South American teams will play three rounds of fixtures in this international break.
The road to Qatar-2022 resumes.
Brazil and Argentina lead the pack
Brazil top the table with eighteen points. They have a healthy six-point lead over their nearest rivals Argentina. The Albiceleste follows Brazil in second place.
Brazil returns to action after a disappointing defeat in the final of Copa America to Argentina. Meanwhile, Argentina comes into the campaign with high morale, after their successful Copa America exploits. The Albiceleste and Brazil are the only two teams that remain unbeaten in the qualifying campaign. Although, unbeaten, Argentina has dropped six points from six games, as they drew three of their matches. Meanwhile, Brazil is yet to drop points in the qualifiers.
Meanwhile, Ecuador and Uruguay complete the remaining two automatic qualifying spots, with nine and eight points respectively. Colombia also has eight points from six games. However, they have an inferior goal difference to Uruguay. As a result, Colombia lies in the play-off spot of fifth place.
Paraguay is placed in sixth place with seven points and Chile follows them in seventh with six points. Meanwhile, Peru, which qualified for the last world cup in Russia, is rooted at the bottom of the table at the moment.
Argentina struggling for goals
Argentina has one of the best forward lines in world football. Despite this, they are finding it difficult to score goals. Their talisman Messi has found the net only twice in the qualifying campaign. On the other hand, the likes of Lautaro Martinez, Angel di Maria, Papu Gomez are not firing in front of the goal as they do for their respective clubs. As a result, Argentina has a measly return of just nine goals in their first six matches. Similarly, Uruguay is also finding goals hard to come by. Veteran striker, Luis Suarez leads Uruguay once again in a tricky qualifying campaign. The former Barcelona star has found the net four times for his nation.
On the other hand, Brazil is scoring in a free-flowing manner. They have scored 16 goals in their first six matches. Neymar has directly been involved in 9 goals in total for the five-time World Cup winner.
Interestingly, Moreno from Bolivia tops the scoring chart in the South American World Cup qualifiers. Moreno has scored six goals in six matches for Bolivia so far in this campaign. Despite Moreno’s efforts, Bolivia, as of right now is placed eighth in the table.
Fixtures
Matchday 9 (Friday, September 3)
Colombia is traveling to the high altitude of La Paz in Bolivia. The stadium is 2500 meters above sea level. Similarly, Paraguay takes on a similar trip to Ecuador’s Quito.
Bolivia vs. Colombia – 1.30 AM (IST)
Ecuador vs. Paraguay – 3.30 AM (IST)
Venezuela vs. Argentina – 5.30 AM (IST)
Chile vs. Brazil – 6.30 AM (IST)
Peru vs. Uruguay – 6.30 AM (IST)
Matchday 6 (Monday, September 6)
Matchday six brings us the mouth-watering tie of Brazil against Argentina in a rematch of the 2021 Copa America final. Meanwhile, Chile travels to Ecuador to set their qualifying campaign on the right track as they lie in the sixth position.
Brazil vs. Argentina – 12.30 AM (IST)
Ecuador vs. Chile – 2.30 AM (IST)
Paraguay vs. Colombia – 3.30 AM(IST)
Uruguay vs. Bolivia – 3.30 AM (IST)
Peru vs. Venezuela – 6.30 AM (IST)
Matchday 10 (Thursday, September 10)
The table will not be the same when we arrive at this matchday. But, as of right now, Uruguay against Ecuador looks like the high-profile clash of this matchday. Meanwhile, Brazil welcomes the bottom of the table Peru.
Uruguay vs. Ecuador – 4 AM (IST)
Paraguay vs. Venezuela – 4 AM (IST)
Colombia vs. Chile – 4.30 AM (IST)
Argentina vs. Bolivia – 5 AM (IST)
Brazil vs. Peru – 6 AM (IST)
An exciting week of football lies ahead.