Argentina boasts of some incredible football players on the planet, including Lionel Messi, Sergio Aguero and Gonzalo Higuain to name a few. So one would expect Argentina to be placed in comfortable position in the World Cup qualifiers. Unfortunately, they are not. In fact, they have been poor in the qualifiers, and lie on sixth place in the qualifiers.
There is a serious need to improve upon their standings. Argentina, with the hope of climbing up the table, will eye victory against the strong looking Colombia side in San Juan on Tuesday. With Colombia, who lie on third place, having looked good in the competition so far, will not be an easy nut to crack in the qualifiers.
There is no doubt about the special talented players that exist in the Argentina squad, but football is not a one-man game even if you have Messi in your side. They need to play as a collective unit and move up the table.
Argentina have only won four matches in the qualifiers, and have lost three. Despite this record, coach Edgardo Bauza is not too perturbed with the results, and remains confident that his team will qualify for the World Cup. The coach believes he has a strong group, which will help the nation head to Russia.
"I never put qualifying for Russia 2018 in doubt. The points we've lost hurt, but we still depend on ourselves. The group is strong and that gives us confidence. We've lost points that we didn't think we would and it's normal that criticism has come out. Hopefully in San Juan, the people can spread the importance that this shirt has. We need that support," ESPN quoted Edgardo as saying.
"We haven't had regularity in our play. The players have to impose the ability they have. The players know their condition and they know what they can do. I trust that."
Colombia, after their loss to Brazil, have looked good, defeating Paraguay and securing a point each against Uruguay and Colombia. They will also feel it is the right time to have a crack at the Argentineans, who must be low on confidence following their loss to Brazil in their last match.
Colombia will hope to pile further pressure by defeating Argentina. With players like James Rodriguez in their ranks and the experienced Radamel Falcao, they have goals in them. However, they will also need their back four and also goalkeeper David Ospina to be on top of their game as the home team are expected to come all guns blazing.
Where to watch live
Argentina vs Colombia World Cup qualifiers match is scheduled for8: 30 local time (5 am IST, 6:30 pm GMT, 11:30 pm GMT). Live streaming and Tv information can be found below.
India: TV: Sony ESPN. Live Streaming: Sonyliv.
Argentina: TV: TyC Sports Argentina.
Colombia: Caracol TV
UK: No live TV coverage
USA: TV: Bein Sports. Live Streaming: beIN Sports Connect
Australia: TV: ESPN2.
