Argentina had to move from Estadio Mas Monumental for the November international window. The River Plate stadium has recently hosted three Taylor Swift concerts, which is why Lionel Messi and company will welcome Uruguay to La Bombonera on Matchday 5 of the South American Qualifiers.
Though La Albiceleste don’t have an own stadium, the Monumental has traditionally been home to the Argentine national team. Especially since the venue underwent renovation in the last few years, extending its capacity to 86,000.
However, the Argentine Football Federation (AFA) decided to change its venue with some anticipation as Taylor Swift had three scheduled shows last weekend. The popular singer performed at the stadium on Nov. 9, 11, and 12 as part of her “Eras Tour.”
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Unsurprisingly, the shows took a toll on the Monumental field. Fortunately, AFA knew this could happen so it decided to prepare the change of venue with time. Besides, it’s not the first time Lionel Scaloni’s team plays away from the Monumental.
The last time Argentina changed stadium
Though this will be the first time they leave the Monumental in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers, Argentina had already played at another stadium this year. In March, they played Curazao at the Estadio Madre de Ciudades in Santiago del Estero, in the north of the country.
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That was their second game after the Qatar 2022 success, and the team wanted to celebrate the triumph outside Buenos Aires as well. But a year before that, La Albiceleste also played their last game in the 2022 World Cup Qualifiers at La Bombonera.
On that occasion, Scaloni’s men wrapped up a remarkable campaign with a 3-0 triumph over Venezuela. Will they repeat that kind of performance this time? We’ll have to wait and see, but it may not be so easy.
Argentina vs. Uruguay preview
The reigning world champions may be favorites in pretty much every game they play, but Uruguay are, on paper, a challenging opponent. La Celeste are starting a new era under Marcelo Bielsa, and they’ve already upset Brazil.
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Luis Suarez returned to the team for the November break, but the team is leaning towards a change of generation. Ronald Araujo is establishing himself as the leader of the defense, while Manuel Ugarte is becoming the new boss in the middle of the park – next to Federico Valverde, of course. Besides, the likes of Suarez or Edinson Cavani are not leading their attacking line anymore, since now it’s time for Facundo Pellistri, Darwin Nuñez and Maximiliano Araujo.
Uruguay head into this match with seven points in four games (W2 D1 L1). Apart from beating Brazil, they took down Chile. Bielsa’s arrival promises to give La Celeste a more offensive style of play, when they got used to being a more defensive-minded team during Oscar Wasington Tabarez’s tenure.
Argentina, on the other hand, arrive in this game as leaders of the standings with a perfect record (W4). The world champions have dominated from the very beginning, beating Ecuador, Peru, Paraguay, and Ecuador so far. The world champs’ chemistry remains untouched, but it will be interesting to see if they can keep up with their commanding performances against a rising team like Uruguay.
