The South American World Cup qualifiers continue this week, and Argentina looks to continue its perfect start Thursday with a win against old rival Uruguay.
Argentina’s superb start includes a run of four straight clean sheets, and bookmaker 10bet offers odds at 1.93 for another La Albiceleste shutout on Thursday. Meanwhile, the odds are at 4.75 for Uruguay not to concede in Buenos Aires.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: November 14th, 5:00 P.M. (EST)
The defending champions kicked off the new World Cup qualifying campaign with a 1-0 victory over Ecuador and have also beaten Bolivia, Paraguay, and Peru without conceding a single goal. Lionel Scaloni’s men now face their biggest challenges during the November window, as a meeting with Brazil follows Thursday’s outing.
The Argentina-Brazil rivalry is definitely the more famous one, but there’s also a lot of history in the match-up against Uruguay. In fact, with 197 prior official games played, the Argentina-Uruguay clash is the most played rivalry in world football. Argentina has won the last three meetings and boasts 92 total wins, while Uruguay has triumphed 57 times.
The Uruguayans last beat their neighbors in 2013, with a prolific strike duo of Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani combining for two goals in a 3-2 win. Lionel Messi missed the match in Montevideo with an injury.
One of Messi’s first outings for Argentina was a 1-0 loss against Uruguay, but this has remained his lone defeat in the match-up. A run of 10 wins and two draws has followed, with Messi registering six goals and three assists in the contests.
Can Marcelo Biela now figure out a way to stop Messi? The legendary Argentine boss is off to a promising start with Uruguay, having taken seven points from the first four qualifiers, which puts Uruguay tied for the second place in the table. La Celeste shocked Brazil with a 2-0 victory four weeks ago and should be filled with confidence ahead of Thursday’s match.
Bielsa’s side has played some very impressive stuff and currently owns the best-attacking record in the South American qualifiers, with eight goals scored in four games. The goals have been flowing despite the absences of Suarez and Cavani. Father Time has done its job on the pair, although Suarez has been brought back to the squad this month for the first time since the 2022 World Cup.
Liverpool ace Darwin Nunez and River Plate’s Nicolas de la Cruz have been the main men up top for Uruguay in the qualifiers so far, registering four goal involvements each. They will be ready to pounce on any chances the Argentine defense gives up, although there likely won’t be many of them at the Estadio Monumental on Thursday night.
