Ecuador plans to take its bath of honor against Lionel Messi’s Argentina This Tuesday in the last match of the South American qualifier for the Qatar-2022 World Cup, to which both teams already have a ticket.
The tricolor and the albiceleste, which has just won 3-0 against Venezuela, will measure forces at the Monumental stadium in the port of Guayaquil (southwest), with capacity for some 59,000 people, starting at 6:30 p.m. local time.
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The Ecuadorians, led by Argentine coach Gustavo Alfaro, are eager to close the World Cup with a clean face before a full stadium, after the 3-1 defeat against Paraguay in which they stamped his passport to Qatar. Brazil (leader with 42 points), Argentina (38), Ecuador (25 and 8 goal difference) and Uruguay (25 and -2) are classified for the World Cup.
undefeated team
After thrashing Venezuela, Argentina extended its undefeated record to 30 games and the plan is to maintain the mark with Messi in the lead. That will complicate the task of the Ecuadorian striker.
The Argentine DT recalled in a press conference before his trip to Ecuador that “the start of the qualifiers was a tough moment” but that “the response from the players was great. They are guys with tremendous quality and it’s all due to them.”
For this last pre-world match, Scaloni will recover defender Gonzalo Montiel, who met the date of suspension due to the accumulation of yellow cards.
“This is the right time to try some modifications. I trust Gonzalo Montiel and Julián Álvarez, the boy in fashion, without a doubt. Just because they don’t play from the start doesn’t mean we don’t trust them,” said the helmsman. It is expected that the Argentine team, which beat Ecuador 1-0 at the start of the South American qualifying round.
A party
The tricolor team arrived this Sunday in hot Guayaquil to receive Argentina, a team with which victory has been elusive. For 13 years, Ecuador has not been able to beat the Albiceleste at home in a World Cup qualifier.
However, Alfaro’s pupils are willing to finish off their classification with a show.
I am “excited about what is coming, it will be a party,” said midfielder José Cifuentes upon arrival in Guayaquil. For Alfaro, the duel will be a “very good and beautiful rehearsal” in view of what awaits Ecuador in Qatar.
In order to leave behind what happened in Paraguay, the helmsman proposed this strategy: “Try to return to our source, recovering players and taking care of others who have been dragging injury problems, to put up the best team.” For the match against Argentina, Ecuador will bring back key players such as Gonzalo Plata, Moisés Caicedo and Alan Franco, who were suspended.
The Brazilian Raphael Claus will lead the meeting between Ecuador and Argentina. He will be accompanied by his compatriots Danilo Manis and Bruno Arleu.
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AFP
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