Lionel Messi's Argentina in danger of missing Russia tournament
Brazil flirted with disaster before securing their place in the 2002 World Cup - which, of course, they won. Argentina had a bad time in the 2010 qualifiers but managed to grab the last automatic slot. Uruguay, who had to be content with the play-off position, went on to come fourth in the tournament after finishing fifth in the South American group.
But even bearing all that in mind, Argentina have dug themselves into a hole this time. They go into the final round down in sixth, outside even the play-off spot following a goalless draw against Peru.
On Wednesday (00:30 BST - live text on the BBC Sport website) they are away to Ecuador at the dreaded altitude of Quito, conditions they despise. A win will guarantee a play-off place and might even send them automatically to Russia, but a draw will leave them reliant on other results and a defeat will eliminate them.
There is, then, a real danger that Argentina, Lionel Messi and all, will be missing from the 2018 World Cup.
0 comments:
Post a Comment