Rio de Janeiro: Lionel Messi has few barriers yet to break in football. One of them will be in reach on Tuesday, when Argentina visit Brazil in a South American World Cup qualifying match.
The 36-year-old Messi has scored 31 goals for Argentina in World Cup qualifying encounters, but none of those came against Brazil, home or away. He has five goals against the arch-rivals, all in friendly matches.
Brazil’s football confederation said all 69,000 tickets for the clash at the Maracana Stadium have been sold. Both teams will play after defeats in the previous round; the locals lost 2-1 at Colombia and the World Cup champions were defeated at home 2-0 by Uruguay.
Many Brazilian fans are keen to watch Messi in a match that could be his last in Rio de Janeiro playing for Argentina. In the same arena, the star lost the 2014 World Cup final to Germany and beat the hosts in the decider of the 2021 Copa America.
Argentina lead the 10-team South American qualifying group with 12 points from five matches. Uruguay are second with 10 points. Colombia have nine and Venezuela eight. Brazil will host the World Cup champions in fifth position, with seven points.
Ecuador, Paraguay and Chile have five points each. Bolivia have three and Peru one.
The 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada will include 48 teams, meaning direct entry for the top six teams from South America. The seventh-placed team can earn a berth in an intercontinental playoff.
Brazil’s struggles
Optimism is in short supply in Brazil, which lost their two latest matches and are struggling under new coach Fernando Diniz. A defeat to Argentina could be the team’s first-ever in a home match of World Cup qualifying, and the hosts will have several absences for that encounter.
Carlos Augusto is likely to start as left-back for the first time, Gabriel Jesus will take the role of the injured Vinicius Júnior up front and teenage sensation Endrick is likely to play in the second half.
The 17-year-old Endrick, who will join Real Madrid next year, spoke in a press conference about his expectations of playing against Messi for the first time.
“For me, Pelé is the king and no one will get near him. Messi is phenomenal, the best in the world again, and I want to enjoy playing against him, a man I only saw in the videogames,” the striker said.
For Argentina, Ángel di Maria, Nicolás González and Leandro Paredes are in contention for a place in the midfield and Lautaro Martínez could replace Julián Álvarez up front.
United ‘eye’ Griezmann
London: Manchester United are reportedly considering a deal to bring in French star striker Antoine Griezmann to Old Trafford to address their goalscoring problems this season.
Erik ten Hag’s United are sixth on the Premier League table with 21 points from 12 games, having won seven games and lost the other five. They are already 7 points off table toppers and cross-town rivals Manchester City.
United have found goals hard to come by, scoring just 13 goals in their league outings this season with Marcus Rashford failing to replicate the lofty standards he set last season. United new-boy Rasmus Hojlund, who has found the back of the net for the Red Devils in the Champions League, is yet to open his account in the Premier League.
According to reports, the team management is considering bringing in the experienced Frenchman from Atletico Madrid and United representatives have already jetted off to Spain to hold talks with the World Cup winner.
The English side, add reports, are ready to nearly triple Griezmann’s earnings if he agrees to the move.
Playmaker Bruno Fernandes has reaffirmed his commitment to United, despite rumours linking him with a switch to Saudi Arabia
Written with inputs from agencies
