Colombia vs Argentina: Match Preview, Odds & Predictions

Tuesday night in Barranquilla, Colombia will host Argentina, the South American World Cup favourites, in a qualification match.

Argentina will be planning their trip to North America following a sensational start, while the hosts are still undefeated after salvaging a late equalizer in Peru last week.

Previous Matches and Head-to-head

With the 2026 World Cup halfway through qualification, Colombia and Argentina meet in a rematch of July's Copa America final, knowing that they are both heavy favourites to make it to the finals.

Similar to the summer's Copa final in the US, when Argentina won their second consecutive trophy thanks to a goal from Lautaro Martinez in the 112th minute, this one should still be a thriller.

Since Nestor Lorenzo took over as coach in the summer of 2022, Colombia has not competed in a final since then.

After 26 games as coach, Lorenzo suffered his first loss in command of Los Cafeteros in the Copa final—their first setback since their 2022 World Cup qualification loss to Argentina.

With a late goal from Luis Diaz, Colombia were able to escape loss in their first encounter after the Copa, earning a point away to Peru on Friday night.

Even though Peru is a heavy favourite, any victory on the road in CONMEBOL qualification would be a boost, since they only managed two points in their first six matches.

The result put Colombia on 13 points, putting them in third place with a seven-point lead over the second-place team in the standings for automatic qualification.

Argentina took advantage of playing earlier than other teams on matchday seven to extend their lead at the top with a 3-0 home victory against Chile.

With goals from Julian Alvarez, Paulo Dybala, and Alexis Mac Allister, the Albiceleste cruised over a Chilean team that was battling for a playoff spot.

This puts Lionel Scaloni's squad in a strong position to qualify for the World Cup for the fourteenth year in a row, as they now have 18 points out of a possible 21 and are 12 points ahead of the automatic spots.

Argentina has never lost in the finals, and it was in a much more brutal style than the more current 18-game format, which has worked to their advantage.

Although CONMEBOL teams seldom win away from home, Argentina has a remarkable record in away qualifications, going undefeated in 13 matches since losing at Bolivia's high altitude seven years ago.

Given that Brazil isn't playing well right now and that both Uruguay and Colombia lost their past matches, Scaloni's team is projected to qualify first. If they can maintain their undefeated streak against a quality Colombian side, it would further enhance their position.

Colombia x Argentina Team News

Due to injuries, Colombia will be missing two of its most seasoned players: goalkeeper David Ospina and midfielder Davinson Sanchez.

John Duran, who was on the bench for the last match against Lima, might start today instead of the Krasnodar striker Jhon Cordoba, who began unexpectedly ahead of the in-form Aston Villa player.

After sitting out the match against Peru due to a lack of playing time since the Copa final, James Rodriguez, the latest addition from Rayo Vallecano, should start and serve as captain here.

Keep an eye on Liverpool's Diaz, who has had a fantastic start to the season so far, as he scored the equalizer on Friday and has three goals and an assist in his first three Premier League games.

Argentina will be playing without star forward Lionel Messi, who has been out since July with an ankle injury that sidelined him in the Copa final.

Nicolas Tagliafico and Leonardo Balerdi, two defensive players, have joined Exequiel Palacios on the injured sidelines for Bayer Leverkusen, while Lucas Martinez Quarta, a player for Fiorentina, has been benched.

After the summer's victory, Angel Di Maria retired, making room for Matias Soule, who had a great year in Serie A and might have his debut here.

Furthermore, striker Taty Castellanos was given his first cap after receiving his first call-up; he came in as a late replacement in the victory over Chile.

Our Predictions

Full time draw

Matches between these two countries tend to be tight; the most recent Copa final went to overtime, the 2021 final went to penalties, and their most recent match in Colombia ended in a 2-2 draw.

Given Argentina's impressive away record, another draw could be in the cards, and Colombia has only managed to win one of the previous thirteen matches, with several of those encounters ending in stalemates as well.

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