Will Messi Be the Difference for Argentina?
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South American qualifying for the 2018 World Cup is well under way and with Brazil as good as through, the remaining three qualifying places are up for grabs.
The CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying campaign consists of one group of ten teams. Each team plays the other nine home and away, with 3 points for a win and 1 for a draw, like a standard football league.
The top four teams qualify automatically for the 2018 World Cup and the fifth-place team goes through to an inter-confederation play-off. So, a team can finish in what is essentially mid-table and still have a good chance of making it to the World Cup, as their opponents in the play-off are likely to be weaker opposition.
However, Argentina will not want to suffer the indignity of having to participate in an inter-confederation play-off to qualify for the World Cup. They will be hoping they can build on their 1-0 victory over Colombia on Thursday and cement their place in the top four, automatic qualifying positions.
In truth, it has not been a great qualifying campaign for Edgardo Bauza and his team, as Argentina picked up just 2 points from their first three matches. This included a 2-0 home defeat at the hands of Ecuador.
Following the 1-1 draw with Brazil in their third game, Argentina defeated Colombia, Chile, Bolivia and Uruguay. Things started to look better for Argentina but their form dipped again and they were held by Venezuela and Peru before losing to Paraguay and Brazil.
Inconsistency has been a real problem for Argentina in 2018 World Cup qualifying yet due to other teams also dropping points, they find themselves in third place going into this game.
Bolivia are out of contention, with only 7 points to show from their thirteen games played. Their points have all been won at home, with victories over Venezuela and Paraguay plus a point against Ecuador. A poor qualifying campaign has been underlined by two matches being awarded 3-0 to their opponents, having fielded an ineligible player. This handed 3-0 victories to Peru and Chile.
Bolivia manager, Mauricio Soria will be hoping home advantage can make a difference for his team in this game. Bolivia have lost two of their last five home matches, which are played at high altitude in La Paz. During those five games Bolivia have defeated Venezuela and Paraguay and picked up a point against Ecuador.
Argentina’s away form has not been great, losing to Brazil and drawing with Peru and Venezuela. They needed a Lionel Messi penalty to get the win over Chile on Thursday night, having been outplayed in the second half and will need the Barcelona man to be on top form, if they are to win this game.
Argentina have conceded 7 goals in their last three away games and Bolivia will believe they can find the back of the net. The Bolivians do not have any hope of qualifying but with the likes of Messi in town, they will be highly motivated to get something from the game.
Having already been held by Venezuela, don’t be surprised if Bolivia grab a point from the match. The question is, even if Argentina play poorly, can Bolivia prevent Messi from making the difference?
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