Our prediction for this World Cup 2026 match:
Ecuador
Match Time & Date:
29/03/2022
06:30 PM
Prediction: 1-1
Argentina
All eyes will be on Estadio Banco Pichincha when Ecuador and Argentina face each other in the South America World Cup qualifiers round 18. La Albiceleste have already booked their ticket for Qatar, but they surely want to put icing on the cake on the successful campaign. Leo Messi is fit, while Lisandro Martinez misses out with injury. PSG winger Angel Di Maria should recover in time to face La Tri as well.
Ecuador, on the other hand, aim to bounce back from a 3-1 loss to Paraguay. La Tri have already secured qualification for the showpiece tournament, meaning that they should be happy with one point from the match. As for the home team, Jordy Caicedo is pushing for a start after scoring as a substitute in the last group game, while all Dominguez, Plata, Franco, and Moises Caicedo are back from suspension.
Highlighted Player (Sebastián Méndez):
Born in Mira, Ecuador, on April 26, 1997, Sebastian Mendez plays for Major League Soccer club Orlando City as a midfielder. Mendez began his youth career at Independiente del Valle and he continued playing for the Ecuadorian side at senior level.
After scoring four goals in 81 appearances in the league for Independiente, the Ecuador international moved to Orlando City in 2019, but it has to be noted that he played for Cultural Leonesa on loan in the past as well. Mendez made his MLS debut against New York City on March 2, 2019 and he was replaced by Nani in the 70th minute.
As for his international career, the Orlando City midfielder played his first ever match for the Ecuador national team on September, 12, 2019 against Guatemala. The Ecuadorians won the game 2-0, with Mendez being replaced in 73rd minute of the match. His main position is defensive midfielder, but he is capable of playing as a central midfielder as well.
Highlighted Team (Argentina):
Members of the CONMEBOL confederation Argentina national team are headed by coach Gerardo Martino and are considered one of the most nations in footballing world. Renowned for their attacking powers and defensive discipline Argentina have been playing their international matches since 1901 and their first ever competitive victory over Uruguay 3-2.
Commonly referred to as La Seleccion, Argentina are top of the FIFA World ranking, but their most recent records have been below par with the team last winning a major trophy in 1993. Two-time World Cup winners have lost the 2014 final to Germany coming agonizingly close to the crown they last won in 1986. Javier Zanetti is the most capped player with 143 matches to his name while Javier Mascherano and Lionel Messi with 124 and 108 respectively are the current team members with most games to their name.
Barcelona star Lionel Messi is six goals short behind Gabriel Batistuta who is the team’s top scorer with 56 goals he scored playing for La Seleccion from 1991 to 2002.
Arsenal
Nottingham Forest
Aston Villa
Crystal Palace 
Milan 
Juventus 
Man City
Tottenham
Celta Vigo 
Barcelona 
Southampton
Liverpool
