Chile vs. Argentina: WCQ Match Preview, Odds & Prediction

Argentina, the reigning world champions, will travel to Santiago, Chile, to play an underperforming Chilean team on Thursday night in CONMEBOL World Cup qualification.

In March, Lionel Scaloni's squad guaranteed their place in the championships, while Chile, the hosts, were destined for their third consecutive World Cup elimination.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

Chile, once among the best in the world, has been struggling since its disastrous home loss to Bolivia last year. Ricardo Gareca's squad has only won one of their past four qualifiers, and they are currently at the bottom of the rankings with two victories from fourteen qualifiers. They are five points behind Venezuela for the playoff spot. Chile's lackluster offense has resulted in a lack of scoring in nine of its 14 qualifying matches, yielding a meager four goals.

Argentina qualified with a 4-1 thrashing of Brazil in March, and they are currently eight points ahead of second place, making them the best South American squad by a wide margin. Argentina has been outstanding, earning 13 points out of a possible 21, and with a victory today, they would have one of the finest away records in the history of the current format.

Argentina still has a few qualifying matches left, including a home match against Colombia and a trip to Ecuador, where they can prove their strength. The team needs a miracle even to have a shot at making it to the finals.

Chile x Argentina Team News

As a result of injuries, midfielder Luciano Cabral and defender Paulo Diaz have been left out of Chile's lineup for both of their matches this week.

Even though captain Alexis Sanchez made only a few starts for the Bianconeri this season and saw very little playing time at Udinese, he is still on the team. However, the seasoned Eduardo Vargas is not.

Lionel Messi, who was Sanchez's teammate at Barcelona, is likely to earn cap number 192 for Argentina. Messi returned to the squad after missing the March internationals due to injury.

Several key players are out with injuries, including Paulo Dybala, Lisandro Martinez, and Alexis Mac Allister; however, Lautaro Martinez has been nominated despite concerns over an injury he suffered late in the season with Inter Milan.

Enzo Barrenechea, who has been impressive while on loan at Valencia, is one of four players without international experience. Many will be watching 17-year-old Franco Mastantuono, who has the makings of an Argentinean football superstar.

Our predictions

Argentina to win @ 1.77 on Sky247.ng

Chile has had a disappointing season overall, and unless a slew of unexpected outcomes happens, they will likely finish last in their present format.

After securing their berth in March's finals, Argentina can play without fear. They are a level above Chile's current squad, so they should have no trouble bringing all three points back to Buenos Aires to prepare for next week's match against Colombia.

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