Paraguay vs Argentina and all CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers to watch on Oct 7, 2021

October 6, 2021 By Oscar Rojas

Topics: World Cup Qualifying, CONMEBOL, Uruguay, Colombia, Paraguay, Argentina, Venezuela, Brazil, TV Schedules, TV Listings

The South American qualifiers return after the embarrassing incidents that took place in the last International Break. Get to know which sides lock horns in the first of three matchdays.

Contrary to popular belief, the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers have reached their midway point, and the upcoming games promise to be as interesting as those that took place last month. If that was not enough to keep our eyes on these games, the fact that we could figure out how close some of the teams could get to earn their spot in the World Cup will be quite fun to watch.

The last international break in CONMEBOL became the talk of the world due to the incidents in the Brazil vs Argentina match. Hopefully, we will be able to focus on what happens on the pitch.

Here are the main things you need to keep in mind ahead of Thursday's games.

The CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers standings ahead of Thursday's fixtures

Top games to watch

Paraguay vs Argentina: Paraguay are closer to the leading pack than ever, and beating Argentina would do wonders for their cause. The main problem for Eduardo Berizzo's men is that Los Guaraníes have not been able to beat Argentina once in their past nine meetings, and with Lionel Messi getting closer to his best form with La Albiceleste, their chances of finishing among the top five seem to be slim.

Uruguay vs Colombia: The clash between the third and fifth best teams in the CONMEBOL Qualifiers will surely be one of the most interesting to watch. Uruguay have the chance to climb to second if Argentina loses to Paraguay, while Colombia could end this matchday in fourth if Ecuador are not able to win their clash. Hence, getting all the points will be crucial for both teams if they want to get to the latter stages of the competition with a bit more certainty in their camp.

Venezuela vs Brazil: It will be a game between the worst team in the Qualifiers and the team that has dominated every game they've kicked off (except for the embarrassing clash against Argentina). It seems like Venezuela will not be able to make the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and all that's left for them would be to try and steal a point here or there to make things complicated for those above them. Unfortunately, Tite's well-oiled machine may not be as easy to beat, and we are willing to anticipate a thrashing at Olympic Stadium in Caracas.

Who's in and who's out?

Here's a list of notable players that were excluded from playing this International break with their National teams:

Argentina: Franco Armani, Lucas Ocampos, Sergio Agüero.

Brazil: Dani Alves, Renan Lodi, Alex Telles, Casemiro, Arthur, Philippe Coutinho.

Chile: Eugenio Mena, Eduardo Vargas.

Colombia: Luis Orejuela, Edwin Cardona, James Rodríguez, Muriel, Duvan Zapata

Uruguay: Maxi Gómez, Christian Stuani, Jonathan Rodríguez.