BUENOS AIRES
\nLionel Messi is set to play his final World Cup qualifier in Argentina on Thursday, while four South American teams are still competing for the remaining automatic places at the 2026 tournament in what could be a dramatic climax.
\nThe 38-year-old Argentina captain will take to the pitch at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires to face Venezuela in what he describes as a very special match, with his family set to be in attendance, including his wife, children, parents and siblings.
\n\u201cIt\u2019s going to be very special for me because it will be my last qualifying match. I don\u2019t know if there will be friendlies or more matches after that,\u201d the eight-times Ballon d\u2019Or winner said last week.Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni told reporters on Wednesday that it was \u201cgoing to be emotional, special and beautiful.\u201d
\n\u201cIf it really is the last qualifying match, we have to enjoy it,\u201d he said.While Argentina have secured their World Cup berth, topping the table in South America\u2019s qualifying competition with 35 points, three automatic qualification spots are still to be determined ahead of Thursday\u2019s fixtures and the final matchday on Sept. 9.
\nEcuador and Brazil are already qualified with 25 points, followed by Uruguay and Paraguay with 24 points each and Colombia with 22 points. Venezuela with 18 points remain in contention, chasing a first World Cup appearance.
\nEcuador\u2019s remarkable recovery stands as one of the campaign\u2019s most compelling storylines, having overcome a three-point penalty for a player eligibility issue to successfully secure qualification.
\nBrazil\u2019s journey has been far bumpier, marked by coaching upheaval that saw Dorival Junior replaced following a 4-1 away defeat to Argentina, after which Carlo Ancelotti made his debut in a goalless draw with Ecuador. The qualifying cycle has produced many memorable moments, such as Colombia\u2019s first-ever World Cup qualifying win over Brazil when they earned a stunning 2\u20131 victory in Barranquilla in November 2023.
\nUruguay also bade an emotional farewell to their captain, Luis Suarez, who retired from international football during the 0\u20130 draw with Paraguay in September 2024. Thursday\u2019s fixtures see Paraguay face Ecuador, Argentina take on Venezuela, Uruguay meet Peru, Colombia host Bolivia and Brazil play Chile.
\nIf matters aren\u2019t already settled, then the final matchday on Tuesday will determine the last automatic qualifiers for the global showdown next June and July, which will be hosted by Canada, Mexico and the US.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
BUENOS AIRES Lionel Messi is set to play his final World Cup qualifier in Argentina on Thursday, while four South American teams are still competing for the remaining automatic places at the 2026 tournament in what could be a dramatic climax. The 38-year-old Argentina captain will take to the pitch at the Monumental Stadium in …<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":86352,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-86319","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86319","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=86319"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86319\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":86354,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/86319\/revisions\/86354"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/86352"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=86319"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=86319"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nabanews.pk\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=86319"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}