Argentina's World Cup campaign has been involved in all sorts of problems, and now, La Albiceleste is out of the top five teams in CONMEBOL, which would have them watching the tournament via their TV sets.
After Matchday 10, Messi's team was ranked fifth with 16 points. Paraguay was sixth with 15 and Chile was twopoints behind La Albiceleste. But CONMEBOL needed to decide if Bolivia deserved to be punished for using an ineligible player, midfielder Nelson Cabrera, and their decision saw La Albiceleste drop from WC Qualifying spots.
Cabrera, born in Paraguay, received his Bolivian passport two years ago. Nevertheless, FIFA only allows players o perform for other National Teams after five years of residence in their "new" country.
Bolivia was stripped from five points, as La Verde had won against Perú and equalized against Chile. After being handed two more points, La Roja leapfrogged Paraguay and Argentina, given that Alexis Sánchez & Co. have scored more goals than La Albiceleste.
Here's how CONMEBOL's chart looks after this decision.
Things are not looking good for Argentina, as they could drop to seventh place if they can't secure at least a win in the upcoming World Cup Qualifying matches. La Albiceleste will face Brazil and Colombia in the next few weeks, and one loss could put their chances of success in serious jeopardy.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
Brazil 3 - 0 Argentina
November 10, 2016 6:45pmEstádio Governador Magalhães Pinto (Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais)This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
Argentina 3 - 0 Colombia
November 15, 2016 6:30pmEstadio San Juan del Bicentenario (San Juan, Provincia de San Juan)This match has ended. Below are the original Live broadcast details for this match.
Live TV coverage and streaming in United States
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