The final matches of the South American 2022 World Cup Qualifiers will be played this week. While Argentina have already booked their ticket to Qatar 2022, Lionel Scaloni’s team surely wants to end the tournament the right way.
Argentina is currently second in the standings with 35 points, four behind leaders Brazil. La Albiceleste has been one of the most consistent teams of the tournament, winning ten matches and drawing five, with no defeats.
Actually, Argentina has a two-year unbeaten run with 29 games without losing. Scaloni’s men want to maintain that record for as long as possible. For the last games of the Qualifiers, however, La Albiceleste won’t have one of their most important players, Lautaro Martinez.
The reason why Lautaro Martinez isn’t playing with Argentina in the World Cup Qualifiers
The official Twitter account of the national team of Argentina announced that Martinez won’t be joining the team for this double date due to a positive for Covid-19. The Inter Milan’s forward has played 15 matches in the Qualifiers, scoring 7 goals and giving three assists.
However, La Albiceleste will have Lionel Messi for these matches, after the captain lost the past two games due to contracting a Covid infection himself. They will face Venezuela in Buenos Aires on Thursday, and Ecuador in Quito four days later.
Another player that will miss these matches is goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who received a two-match ban from FIFA, alongside Giovani Lo Celso, Cristian Romero, and Emiliano Buendia, the scandal with Brazil’s health authorities last year.