Julian Alvarez fires Argentina to 1-0 win over Chile in Lionel Messi’s return to international action

Argentina beat Chile 1-0 in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers. See you next time!

Argentina secured a big 1-0 victory over Chile thanks to a first-half goal by Julian Alvarez.

Cristian Romero was booked for a hard challenge.

Nuñez and Davila came on to replace Loyola and Sanchez.

Guillermo Maripan was shown a yellow card.

Franco Mastantuono replaced Tiago Almada and became the fifth-youngest player to debut for Argentina, at 17 years and 295 days old. In addition, Juan Foyth came on for Giuliano Simeone.

Lionel Messi assisted Simeone, and after a rebound inside the box, he fired the ball wide.

Lionel Scaloni brought on Angel Correa to replace Julian Alvarez, and Facundo Medina in Leonardo Balerdi’s place.

Lionel Messi took his first shot on target with a free kick that was handled by goalkeeper Cortez.

Suazo sent in a cross from the left that found Cepeda on the far side inside the box. The winger fired with his left foot, but the shot went well wide.

The Argentine forward combined with De Paul, dribbled past a defender inside the box, and when he took the shot, Maripan blocked it.

Cepeda made a good individual play that ended with a shot saved by Dibu Martinez and then it grazed the crossbar.

Altamirano fired a shot with his left foot, forcing a reaction from Martinez.

The Argentine goalkeeper stopped a powerful shot from Cepeda.

Nicolas Tagliafico was booked and will have to serve a one-match suspension, so he will miss Tuesday’s game against Colombia.

Alexander Aravena replaced Dario Osorio.

Lionel Scaloni made the first substitution for Argentina: Lionel Messi comes on, replacing Nicolas Paz.

Cepeda committed a strong foul against Romero and was booked.

Chile and Argentina are back on the pitch for the final 45 minutes at Estadio Nacional in Santiago.

Ricardo Gareca made substitutions at the start of the second half, bringing on Hormazabal and Altamirano to replace Vidal and Pizarro.

Argentina go into the break with a comfortable lead over Chile, thanks to Julian Alvarez’s goal in the 16th minute.

Simeone found plenty of space on the counterattack and played a pass to Tiago Almada, whose shot was well saved by the Chilean goalkeeper.

Julian Alvarez set up Simeone inside the box, and his shot forced a save from goalkeeper Cortes. However, the Atletico Madrid midfielder was offside.

Arturo Vidal committed a hard foul on Rodrigo De Paul, and referee Jesus Valenzuela showed him the yellow card.

Simeone received a long pass and had a clear chance inside the box, but his shot sailed over the crossbar.

Giuliano Simeone beat two defenders, drove to the end line, and sent in a low cross that none of his teammates could reach.

Great assist from Tiago Almada found Julian Alvarez one-on-one with goalkeeper Cortez, and the forward finished with a delicate touch to open the scoring.

After a frantic start from Chile, Argentina are now controlling possession but haven’t found openings to trouble their opponents.

A nice passing combination, Simeone delivered a drilled cross, but De Paul’s shot went well over the bar.

Molina made a costly mistake and gave the ball away to Alexis Sanchez, who fired a powerful shot that was saved by Emiliano Martinez.

Chile and Argentina have kicked off the Matchday 15 of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers!

Chilean fans whistled and booed during Argentina’s national anthem.

Chile and Argentina have taken the pitch at Estadio Nacional in Santiago, awaiting the opening whistle from referee Jesus Valenzuela.

The last time Argentina traveled to face Chile was on January 27, 2022, during the South American qualifiers for the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. That day, without Lionel Messi, Lionel Scaloni’s team earned a 2-1 win with goals from Angel Di Maria and Lautaro Martinez, while Ben Brereton scored for the hosts.

Heading into Matchday 15 of the South American qualifiers, Chile sit in last place in the standings with 10 points. The 7th position—the final spot that grants a chance to reach the 2026 FIFA World Cup via a playoff—is currently held by Venezuela with 15 points.

If Chile manage to defeat Argentina tonight, they’ll close the gap to just 2 points and will be watching Friday’s match between Venezuela and Bolivia with renewed hope. But if the result doesn’t go their way, Ricardo Gareca’s team could see their World Cup dreams all but crushed: a Venezuela win would push the gap to 8 points with only 9 left to play for.

Alongside head coach Ricardo Gareca, the following players will be on the bench for Chile: Gabriel Castellon, Lawrence Vigouroux, Fabian Hormazabal, Marcelino Nuñez, Alexander Aravena, Victor Davila, Benjamín Kuscevic, Esteban Pavez, Igor Lichnovsky, Javier Altamirano, Matias Sepulveda, and Lucas Assadi.

Lionel Messi will begin the match on the bench for Argentina, waiting for his chance to come on in the second half. Joining him among the substitutes are: Geronimo Rulli, Walter Benitez, Juan Foyth, Kevin Lomonaco, Facundo Medina, Valentin Barco, Enzo Barrenechea, Emiliano Buendia, Franco Mastantuono, Angel Correa, and Lautaro Martinez.

Lionel Messi has been Argentina’s regular captain for years. In recent times, when he hasn’t been on the field, that responsibility has typically gone to Nicolas Otamendi. However, with Messi starting on the bench tonight and Otamendi unavailable due to suspension, the armband will be worn by Tottenham center-back Cristian Romero.

Chile and Argentina have confirmed lineups for tonight's game.

Chile head coach Ricardo Gareca has named the following starting XI: Brayan Cortes; Felipe Loyola, Guillermo Maripan, Francisco Sierralta, Gabriel Suazo; Arturo Vidal, Rodrigo Echeverria, Vicente Pizarro; Dario Osorio, Alexis Sanchez, Lucas Cepeda.

On the other side, Lionel Scaloni has selected this lineup for Argentina: Emiliano Martinez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Leonardo Balerdi, Nicolas Tagliafico; Giuliano Simeone, Rodrigo De Paul, Exequiel Palacios, Tiago Almada; Nicolas Paz, Julian Alvarez.

In the days leading up to tonight’s match, one of the main talking points in Argentina has been whether Lionel Messi will play. While official confirmation is still pending, reports indicate that the Inter Miami forward will be on the bench and could come on during the second half.

Chile will host Argentina at Estadio Nacional Julio Martinez Pradanos, located in the nation’s capital, Santiago. The stadium was officially inaugurated in 1937 and has undergone several renovations over the years to reach its current form, with a capacity of 46,190 spectators.

Here’s how it looks:

Jesus Valenzuela from Venezuela will be the referee for the match between Chile and Argentina at Estadio Nacional in Santiago. The 41-year-old has been an international referee for a decade and officiated the most recent meeting between these two teams—back in September 2024 on Matchday 7 of the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. That day, the reigning world champions secured a 3-0 victory.

Referee crew:

Referee: Jesus Valenzuela

Assistant 1: Jorge Urrego

Assistant 2: Tulio Moreno

Fourth official: Yender Herrera

VAR: Juan Soto

AVAR: Carlos Lopez

Chile vs Argentina will get underway at 9:00 PM (ET).

Fanatiz USA will be the option to watch the 2026 World Cup qualifier between Chile and Argentina in the US.

Welcome to our live blog!

Argentina visit Chile in a matchup between two teams on very different paths. The hosts need a win to keep their hopes of reaching the 2026 FIFA World Cup alive—but they face a tough challenge against the reigning world champions.

Stay with us in the lead-up for detailed info on both teams. And once the match kicks off, enjoy full minute-by-minute updates as the action happens!