Argentina and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi. (Photo : Getty Images)
A high-profile matchup between two of the world's most popular national squads, Argentina (3-1-2, 11 points) and Uruguay (4-1-1, 13 points), is set to be held at the Estadio Malvinas Argentinas in Mendoza, Argentina on Thursday, Sep. 1 as the 2018 FIFA World Cup CONMEBOL qualifying tournament continues.
Argentina and Chile are currently at the third and fourth spots of the tournament's table with the top four finishers set to qualify to the 2018 FIFA World Cup in Russia. The fifth place finisher will get to enter an inter-confederation playoffs where the final two spots in the World Cup will be available for the winners.
La Albiceleste is now being managed by new boss Edgardo Bauza after former manager Gerardo Martino resigned last month following another loss in two straight Copa America finals. Bauza officially took over the squad's rein on Aug. 1 and this match against Uruguay will be the first for the 58-year-old Argentine mentor.
Argentina blanked Bolivia, 2-0, in their last World Cup qualifying match held at the Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes in Córdoba on Mar. 29, as per ESPN.
Sevilla defender Gabriel Mercado and Barcelona forward Lionel Messi, who said he would retire from international play after the Centenario loss but recently had reversed his decision, provided the goals in the first half of the match.
This time, the White and Sky Blue will miss the services of Sergio Agüero and Javier Pastore due to injuries while Gonzalo Higuaín was not called-up by Coach Bauza as he sees him unfit to play at the moment.
Meanwhile, Uruguay will still be managed by Oscar Tabarez, who is in his 10th year as Los Charrúas head coach.
Messi's Barça teammate and good friend Luis Suárez will be available now and together with Paris Saint-Germain striker Edinson Cavani, the duo is one of the best goalscoring threats in the tournament.
La Celeste nipped Peru, 1-0, at their home field of Estadio Centenario in Montevideo also on Mar. 29 to climb on top of the 10-team South American table, Daily Mail Online reported.
Cavani netted the winning goal of the contest at the 53rd minute to give his country its fourth win in six games.
Such a star-studded match-up will definitely be a highly-entertaining match for the fans. It will be a close fight, to say the least, but the Argentinians will prevail with the heroics of Messi.
The predicted result is a tough 2-1 win for Argentina.
Argentina starting lineup (4-3-3 formation): Romero; Mercado, Demichelis, Funes Mori, Rojo; Biglia, Mascherano, Banega; Messi, Dybala, Di Maria
Uruguay starting lineup (4-4-2 formation): Muslera; Gimenez, Godin, Coates, A. Pereira; Arevalo, Sanchez, Rodriguez, Vecino; Cavani, Suárez
