Argentina, the defending World Champions, will recommence their journey in the 2026 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers in the CONMEBOL zone as they take on Uruguay on March 22nd at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo, Uruguay.

🔜 ¡𝗝𝗨𝗘𝗚𝗔 𝗟𝗔 𝗖𝗘𝗟𝗘𝗦𝗧𝗘!

Mañana, el clásico más antiguo del mundo, en casa.

🆚 Argentina
🏟️ Estadio Centenario
🕘 20:30h
📺 https://t.co/qVMBrYJR1J #ElEquipoQueNosUne pic.twitter.com/9lvpWuKqdQ
— Selección Uruguaya (@Uruguay) March 20, 2025

On 17 November 2023, Uruguay handed Argentina their first defeat since the World Cup win, when they defeated La Albicelestes by 2-0 in the reverse fixture of the qualifiers at La Bombonera in Buenos Aires.

From possible starting XIs to Fantasy predictions, here is everything you need to know about the Uruguay vs Argentina fixture in the 2026 World Cup CONMEBOL Qualifiers.

Match Details

Match: Uruguay vs Argentina match - 2026 World Cup Conmebol Qualifiers

Date: 22 March 2025

Time: 5:00 AM IST

Venue: Estadio Centenario, Montevideo, Uruguay

Uruguay vs Argentina 2026 World Cup Qualifiers | Match Preview, Head-to-head, Possible Lineups and Fantasy XI Prediction-sportzpoint.com — (Image Credit | ESPN Uruguay)

Broadcasting and Streaming Details

The live streaming of the Uruguay vs Argentina, CONMEBOL Qualifiers match will be available on the FanCode app and website. There is no official TV broadcasting available in India.

Team News

Uruguay

Uruguay vs Argentina 2026 World Cup Qualifiers | Match Preview, Head-to-head, Possible Lineups and Fantasy XI Prediction-sportzpoint.com — Uruguay against Colombia last November. (Image Source | X)

Uruguay have emerged triumphant against Brazil and Colombia at home since former Argentina boss Marcelo Bielsa's appointment in May 2023.

The 'Los Charrúas' are currently standing in the third position of the CONMEBOL Qualifiers leaderboard, having earned 20 points in 12 matches.

📋 𝗖𝗢𝗡𝗩𝗢𝗖𝗔𝗗𝗢𝗦

Lista de jugadores confirmados por Marcelo Bielsa para la doble fecha de marzo en la que enfrentaremos a Argentina y Bolivia.

📺 https://t.co/qVMBrYJR1J #ElEquipoQueNosUne pic.twitter.com/oenYai9zhG
— Selección Uruguaya (@Uruguay) March 18, 2025

Marcelo Bielsa has made an unusual decision by naming a 38-man squad for the qualifying matches against Argentina and Bolivia, which offers a whole new set of players an opportunity to feature for the national team in these important matches.

AURA pic.twitter.com/olA0YIElMr
— Selección Uruguaya (@Uruguay) March 20, 2025

Manchester United midfielder Manuel Ugarte was among the names selected, but he will miss the game against Argentina, due to the accumulation of yellow cards.

Federico Valverde, Ronald Araujo, Rodrigo Bentancur, and Darwin Nunez are all expected to start, whereas Nunez has expressed his desire to come out of his struggling form at Liverpool.

Argentina

Uruguay vs Argentina 2026 World Cup Qualifiers | Match Preview, Head-to-head, Possible Lineups and Fantasy XI Prediction-sportzpoint.com — Argentina won 1-0 against Peru in their last game in November. (Image Credit | Reuters)

Argentina have accumulated 25 points from their 12 qualifying matches and currently sits at the top of the table. La Albicelestes can secure their place in the next World Cup if they end the March international break with a 13-point lead over the seventh-placed team.

The Lionel Scaloni-led team is currently the top-ranked national team in FIFA Rankings, but their form has been inconsistent since winning the 2024 Copa America title. In their last six matches, they have won three, lost two, and drawn one, with none of those victories coming in an away game.

📋 This is the final squad list called up by Lionel Scaloni for the upcoming matches against Uruguay and Brazil in the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers! 📝 pic.twitter.com/j34xzALRDY
— Selección Argentina in English (@AFASeleccionEN) March 17, 2025

Ahead of the team selection, Lionel Scaloni has faced significant injury woes, as his biggest weapon, captain Lionel Messi has been sidelined due to an adductor injury. Striker Lautaro Martinez had also withdrawn himself from the squad due to hamstring issues.

Last training session before the game ✅ pic.twitter.com/GS3hYdLwfz
— Selección Argentina in English (@AFASeleccionEN) March 20, 2025

Scaloni will have to field a competitive eleven without the services of Gonzalo Montiel, Giovani Lo Celso, and Paulo Dybala as well, who all have been ruled out due to different injury concerns.

Head-to-head Stats

Here are the head-to-head stats between Uruguay and Argentina in the FIFA World Cup, World Cup Qualifiers and Copa America matches.

Matches Played: 49

Uruguay won: 17

Argentina won: 24

Draws: 8

Possible Playing XI

Uruguay

Sergio Rochet; Nahitan Nandez, Ronald Araujo, Jose Gimenez, Marcelo Saracchi; Federico Valverde, Rodrigo Bentancur, Rodrigo Aguirre; Facundo Pellistri, Maximiliano Araujo, Darwin Nunez

Argentina

Emiliano Martinez; Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Nicolas Otamendi, Nicolas Tagliafico; Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, Enzo Fernandez; Angel Correa, Nico Gonzalez, Julian Alvarez

Scoreline Prediction

Uruguay has already defeated Brazil and Colombia at home in the current qualifying cycle. Given that Argentina will be without stars like Messi and Martinez, we believe the hosts have a great opportunity to secure all three points. This is also significant as the visitors have lost two of their last three away qualifiers.

Our Prediction: Uruguay 2-1 Argentina

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