BUENOS AIRES — Argentina and Brazil will have two of their leading stars available again as South American qualifying for the 2026 World Cup resumes with the last two rounds of games this year.
Defending World Cup champion Argentina will once again count on goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, who was suspended for two international matches in October. Brazil will bring back winger Vinícius Júnior, who missed the last two qualifiers through injury but has recovered.
South American leaders Argentina will play at Paraguay on Thursday, shortly after fourth-place Brazil visits Venezuela.
Also on Thursday, host Ecuador and Bolivia will face off in Guayaquil.
Potentially the most interesting match of the 11th round will be played on Friday in Montevideo, where third-place Uruguay hosts second-place Colombia. The bottom two in the 10-team standings, Peru and Chile, will meet the same day.
All teams play again next Tuesday in the 12th round of games, when Argentina hosts Peru and Brazil has a home game against Uruguay.
Argentina currently has 22 points, three more than Colombia, with Uruguay and Brazil third and fourth with 16 points each. Ecuador and Paraguay, with 13 points, complete the top six which are direct spots in the next World Cup.
Bolivia has 12 points, and its seventh place would qualify the Andean team for an international playoff. Venezuela (11), Peru (6) and Chile (5) complete the standings.
Argentina can move even closer to a spot at the World Cup by beating Paraguay and Peru.
Captain Lionel Messi will be his team’s best hope for goals once again after his hat trick and two assists in the 6-0 win against Bolivia in October, with the 37-year-old the top scorer in the current South American qualifying.
Argentina will travel to Asuncion with an additional challenge since Paraguay has been unbeaten since coach Gustavo Alfaro, an Argentine, took over in the middle of the year. In September, the Paraguayans beat Brazil 1-0.
Coach Lionel Scaloni faced a last-minute injury that could force even more changes in Argentina’s defense. Lisandro Martínez suffered an apparent abdomen injury during Manchester United’s 3-0 Premier League victory over Leicester and was discharged from international duty. Scaloni had already lost Germán Pezzella.
Pressure on Brazil coach Dorival Júnior was eased in October after two wins in qualifying over Chile and Peru. And Vinícius wasn’t on duty in either of them.
Fans will pay close attention to the winger’s performances against tough defenses at Venezuela and later against Uruguay, as he tries to reproduce for Brazil the same decisive performances for Real Madrid.
Brazil once again will not have Neymar, who picked up a muscular injury earlier this month. There’s no big name as a center forward because Rodrygo is injured, too, and Endrick was not chosen. Vinícius will likely have to link up effectively with Raphinha and Luiz Henrique.
Vinícius will face two teams that are in a degree of turmoil. Venezuela hasn’t won any of its last six qualifiers, and Uruguay coach Marcelo Bielsa is still under fire from former players for his handling of the team.
Two wins for Brazil won’t secure the team a spot at the next World Cup just yet, but they will give fans and players some reassurance after a turbulent year.
Colombia is hardly expecting a friendly reception in Montevideo on Friday. After all, there’s unfinished business with Uruguay since their turbulent semifinal encounter at the Copa América in the United States in July.
Colombia’s victory kicked off a brawl between Colombian fans and relatives of the Uruguay players. Led by striker Darwin Núñez, the Uruguayans went into the stands to defend their relatives. Núnez was later suspended for five matches.
Uruguay’s Bielsa will be without two key midfielders, Nicolás de la Cruz and Giorgian de Arrascaeta, both injured. Uruguay has not won since its third-place match at the Copa America.
____
Savarese reported from Sao Paulo.
___
AP soccer: https://apnews.com/hub/soccer
