The South American qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup are entering the final stretch, and every match could be decisive in determining the six teams that will earn a direct ticket and the seventh that will head to the playoff. In that context, Chile and Argentina will face off this Thursday at Estadio Nacional in Santiago.
The home side has struggled throughout the competition to find convincing performances and consistent results, which is why they currently sit at the bottom of the standings with just 10 points out of a possible 42. As things stand, Chile are five points behind seventh place, which grants a playoff berth and is currently held by Venezuela.
Argentina‘s situation is entirely different. The reigning world champions lead the standings and have shown their dominance with 10 wins, one draw, and three losses in 14 matches. That record has given them a significant lead over their rivals: they have 31 points, while their closest competitor, Ecuador, has 23. That makes them the only South American team to have already secured a spot in the next World Cup.
Argentina’s confirmed starting lineup
Argentina have several notable absences for tonight’s match in Santiago. To begin with, Alexis Mac Allister and Giovani Lo Celso have been ruled out due to physical issues. In addition, four players are suspended: Enzo Fernandez, Nicolas Otamendi, Leandro Paredes, and Nicolas Gonzalez. And as if that weren’t enough, Lionel Messi and Lautaro Martinez arenot starting against Chile either—they’ll be rested and available off the bench.
Lionel Scaloni, head coach of Argentina
Given this scenario, the confirmed starting lineup head coach Lionel Scaloni will field is: Emiliano Martinez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Leonardo Balerdi, Nicolas Tagliafico; Giuliano Simeone, Rodrigo De Paul, Exequiel Palacios, Tiago Almada; Nicolas Paz, Julian Alvarez.
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Chile’s confirmed starting lineup
Knowing that there’s no room for error and that they must win to keep their hopes of qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup alive, head coach Ricardo Gareca will send out the best lineup tonight to face Argentina at home. Among the regular starters, defender Paulo Diaz will miss the game due to injury.
Chile’s confirmed starting lineup is: Brayan Cortes; Felipe Loyola, Guillermo Maripan, Francisco Sierralta, Gabriel Suazo; Arturo Vidal, Rodrigo Echeverria, Vicente Pizarro; Dario Osorio, Alexis Sanchez, Lucas Cepeda.
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