Cristian Romero is suspended for Argentina’s World Cup qualifying match against Ecuador.
Romero will not play with the Argentina national team against Ecuador on Tuesday. The Argentine was yellow carded during Argentina’s 3-0 win against Venezuela and is suspended for the match.
Argentina national team coach Lionel Scaloni will have to make two changes to the starting eleven for the match against Ecuador as Romero is suspended and Lionel Messi will not be travelling with the team.
Lionel Messi leads the South American World Cup qualifiers in goals.
Messi has eight goals in the 2026 South American World Cup qualifiers, the most out of any player. The 38 year old scored twice for Argentina in their 3-0 win against Venezuela and he overtook Luis Díaz who has seven goals with Colombia.
His first goal of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers was in a 1-0 win against Ecuador and he had both goals in Argentina’s 2-0 win against Peru. Messi scored three goals in Argentina’s 6-0 win against Bolivia and two against Venezuela.
Emiliano Martínez has become Argentina’s second all time capped goalkeeper.
Martínez reached 54 matches with the Argentina national team in their 3-0 win against Venezuela in the World Cup qualifiers. He is behind only Sergio Romero, who played 96 matches with the Argentina national team.
The 33 year old played his first match with the Argentina national team in June 2021, a 1-1 draw against Chile before the 2021 Copa America. Martínez has 38 clean sheets and four losses in his 54 matches.
With the Argentina national team, Martínez won the 2022 World Cup, the 2022 Finalissima and the 2021 and 2024 Copa America titles.
Lionel Messi spoke about if he will be playing at the World Cup with the Argentina national team.
Messi scored twice for Argentina in their 3-0 win against Venezuela in his final World Cup qualifying match in Argentina. With that goal, Messi has now scored for 20 consecutive years with the Argentina national team, with five matches remaining in the year.
The Argentine confirmed that he will not play against Ecuador in Tuesday’s World Cup qualifier. Speaking to the media in the mixed zone after the match, Messi was asked about if he would play in the next World Cup qualifiers. Here is what he had to say:
“It’s a natural question. Due to my age, my time is running out. There’s still a long way to go before the next qualifiers. I can confirm that I won’t be there. Now I’m taking each day as it comes. I hope to have a good preseason.
“I never said whether or not I would make it to the World Cup, I simply said that I was going to take each day as it came. I always said that, given my age, the most logical or natural thing was that I wouldn’t make it.”
Nicolás Otamendi has announced that Argentina’s 3-0 win against Venezuela was his last competitive match in Argentina.
Otamendi spoke to the media after Argentina’s World Cup qualifier and stated that the match against Venezuela was his last in the country. The 37 year old commented on Lionel Messi playing his last match in Argentina and mentioned that it was surely his last match. Speaking in the media scrum after the match, here is what he had to say:
“I needed to finish this way. It was also my last game here.”
The Argentine first played for the Argentina national team in 2009 and has since taken part in three FIFA World Cup’s, five Copa America tournaments and one Finalissima. Otamendi has won the World Cup, the Finalissima and back to back Copa America titles.
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