ARGENTINA QUALIFICATION BALANCE
A World Cup with no Messi, widely view as the world’s best player, and Argentina seems almost inconceivable.
Yet Argentina can ill-afford to drop points if they are to stay on course for the 2010 finals in South Africa.
They are unstably placed in fourth place in the South American group, the lowest automatic qualifying berth, and five points behind of leaders Brazil.
The team ending fifth after the remaining four rounds in the 10-nation group has second probability to qualify with a two-leg playoff with the fourth-placed squad from CONCACAF.
Messi has yet to shift his dazzling club appearance for Barcelona to the national stage for Argentina, whose enthusiast hope to see him encourage his country to victory in his first official match in the city of his birth.
He had barely entered his teens when he left Rosario for Barcelona subsequent to no club in Argentina could pay for the hormone treatment he required if he was going fulfill his huge pledge.
Brazil have not lost to Argentina in four matches in view of the fact that the teams’ last meeting on Argentine place, a Juan Roman Riquelme-inspired 3-1 triumph in Buenos Aires in 2005.
Overrun by a counter-attacking Brazil in the 2005 Confederations Cup final, a 2006 friendly in London and the 2007 Copa America final in Venezuela, Argentina able to stop the perish in a 0-0 tie in last year’s qualifier in Belo Horizonte.
