Four games before the conclusion of the South American World Cup, Chile needs wins to get out of the sixth place it currently occupies with 16 units.
Chile will take the classified Argentina to the 2,400-meter altitude of the city of Calama to achieve a victory that will allow them to dream of a ticket to the Qatar-2022 World Cup, in a crucial match in which Lionel Messi will be absent.
Four games before the conclusion of the South American World Cup, Chile needs wins to get out of the sixth place it currently occupies with 16 units, outside the classification zone. Meanwhile, Argentina is already classified, in second place, with 29 points, behind Brazil, also with a visa to Qatar.
The urgencies led the Chileans to change Santiago and travel 1,900 km to the north, in the middle of the Atacama desert, to the small mining city of Calama, near important copper deposits and at an altitude of 2,400 meters, a geographical condition in which Argentina has More failures than triumphs.
With a population of just over 180,000 inhabitants, Calama has a rich soccer history thanks to its team: Cobreloa, which in just 45 years of life was a two-time Copa Libertadores finalist in 1981 and 1982, and won eight local titles. Currently going through a bad streak in the Chilean second division.
TV channels to watch live Chile vs. Argentina
Ecuador: El Canal del Fútbol (application and website) on YouTube, Movistar Play and TV Cable.
Chile: ChileVision, Claro Video, CDF HD Y CDF Stadium.
Argentina: TyC Sports Y Public TV.
Schedules to see the meeting Chile vs. Argentina
4:15 p.m. in Tijuana and Los Angeles
18:15 in Austin (Texas) and Mexico City
19:15 in Ecuador, Brazil, Peru, Ontario (Canada) and New York
21:15 in Chile, Argentina, Uruguay, Paraguay and Brazil
02:15 on Friday in England and Portugal
03:15 on Friday in Spain, France, Italy and Germany
Calama will not receive world star Lionel Messi, who was left out of DT Lionel Scaloni’s call after recovering from COVID-19 and who has not been regular in football at French PSG. In their last game, the Parisians defeated Reims 4-0 and Messi was a substitute entering the second half, after a month of inactivity.
On the Chilean side, the midfielder Arturo Vidal will not be either, suspended in principle for three games after the kick he hit an Ecuadorian player on the last qualifying date. But, at a request from the player himself, FIFA reduced the sanction to two games.
“Not having Arturo Vidal, we must win the same and if the rival does not have Messi, we must win the same,” said Uruguayan Martín Lasarte, Chile’s coach.
COVID-19 and injuries
La Roja and La Albiceleste have had to face casualties due to the pandemic -more with the appearance of the omicron variant- but also due to injuries, which have led Lasarte and Scaloni to make emergency calls.
Chile lost three players due to covid-19: winger Mauricio Isla, central defender Francisco Sierralta and striker Jean Meneses. Lasarte called José Pedro Fuenzalida at the wheel as an emergency.
Argentina, current champion of America, suffers from the absence of midfielder Guido Rodríguez, also due to the virus, for which Scaloni called Nehuén Pérez as an emergency. Due to injury, striker Joaquín Correa and center-back Cristián Romero are left out, and the DT called Maximiliano Meza.
After the match, Chile will travel to 3,600 meters above sea level in La Paz to play Bolivia, while Argentina will host Colombia in Córdoba, both games on Tuesday.
The match will be played at the Zorros del Desierto stadium – with a capacity for 12,100 spectators and remodeled in 2015 under the arbitration of the Brazilian Anderson Troncoso. (D)
possible alignments
Chile: Claudio Bravo; Paulo Diaz, Gary Medel, Guillermo Maripan, Eugenio Mena; Charles Aránguiz, Erick Pulgar, Marcelino Núñez; Alexis Sanchez, Ben Brereton, Eduardo Vargas. DT: Martin Lasarte.
Argentina: Emiliano Martinez; Gonzalo Montiel, Nicolás Otamendi, Lisandro Martínez, Marcos Acuña; Leandro Paredes, Rodrigo de Paul, Giovanni Locelso; Angel Di Maria, Lautaro Martinez, Paulo Dybala. DT: Lionel Scaloni.
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