Argentina begin their long path towards potentially retaining the World Cup as the start of qualification for the 2026 tournament kicks off at home to Ecuador.
Lionel Messi inspired Argentina to a famous triumph in Qatar at the end of 2022 and the Inter Miami forward is now looking to lead the team to the competition co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico.
World Cup qualification from CONEMBOL will be demanding for Messi and company, with 18 matches on the schedule until September 2025 as part of a mammoth task to reach the tournament.
The World Cup win put Argentina top of the FIFA world rankings with arch rivals Brazil slipping down from first place into third since the start of 2023. That leaves them as firm favourites to win this opening match against Ecuador.
LIVE BLOG: Follow along with highlights & commentary as Argentina opens World Cup qualifying
Argentina vs Ecuador lineups
Lionel Messi will captain Argentina on his 176th international cap with fellow World Cup winners Lisandro Martinez and Rodrigo De Paul also in line to start in this fixture.
Lionel Scaloni has also looked to bring through some young stars in 2023, but Manchester United winger Alejandro Garnacho will have to wait a little longer to earn his place. His club teammate Lisandro Martinez has also been passed over for this match, as veteran Nicolas Otamendi is chosen at the back instead.
Below are the confirmed starting lineups for both teams ahead of their 2026 World Cup qualifier at Estadio Monumental, in Buenos Aires, Argentina on September 7.
MORE: Where is FIFA World Cup 2026? Host countries, cities for next men's tournament
Argentina starting 11
This international window was thought to finally be the long-anticipated transition from Angel Di Maria to Alejandro Garnacho on the left wing. Garnacho has been electric for Manchester United and earned increased playing time, and while an ankle injury scuppered his chance at earning a spot at the 2022 World Cup, he is now thought to be the heir apparent to Di Maria's spot out wide.
That will have to wait, however, as Nico Gonzalez is the one to play out wide left instead of Garnacho. Lionel Scaloni has deployed Lautaro Martinez up front, rewarding his exceptional start to the Inter Milan season, while Julian Alvarez begins on the bench.
While Marcos Acuna has been the regular starter at left-back for some time now, he was not called into the squad as he sees his playing time decrease at his club Sevilla. Nicolas Tagliafico is the one to replace him, with uncapped Lucas Esquivel serving as backup.
Argentina starting XI (4-3-3): E. Martinez — Molina, Romero, Otamendi, Tagliafico — Mac Allister, E. Fernandez, De Paul — Messi, La. Martinez, N. Gonzalez.
- Injured: Papu Gomez, Lisandro Martinez.
- Suspended: None
🏆 #Eliminatorias
— 🇦🇷 Selección Argentina ⭐⭐⭐ (@Argentina) September 7, 2023
📋 ¡Once inicial confirmado! ⚽
Así formará @Argentina 🇦🇷 para el encuentro ante #Ecuador 🇪🇨 ¡Vuelven al ruedo los campeones! pic.twitter.com/2S2ub7b4UP
Ecuador starting 11
The most prominent player for La Tri is undoubtedly Moises Caicedo who just completed a huge transfer to Premier League side Chelsea after rising to prominence at Brighton. The 21-year-old smashed the British transfer record, and has 32 international caps to his name despite his young age.
Ecuador head coach Felix Sanchez will have captain Enner Valencia leading the line for La Tri yet again, but selecting his strike partner will present a dilemma. Sanchez made the controversial decision not to call in Lionel Messi's Inter Miami teammate Leonardo Campana, which has been heavily criticized. Instead, he will have to play alongside Gonzalo Plata, with both Kevin Rodriguez and Jhojan Julio passed over.
Interestingly, there's also a change in goalkeeper as the experienced Alexander Dominguez is replaced by Hernan Galindez between the posts.
Ecuador starting XI (3-5-2): Galindez (GK) — Arboleda, F. Torres, Pacho — Hurtado, Caicedo, Gruezo, Cifuentes, Estupinan — Plata, Valencia.
- Injured: None
- Suspended: None
Chelsea's record-breaking signing Moises Caicedo will anchor the Ecuador midfield alongside his former Brighton & Hove Albion teammate Pervis Estupinan, who is poised to start at left wing-back.
⚡️Nuestro 𝗫𝗜 que saltará a la cancha en el estadio Más Monumental presentado por @gatoradeecuador pic.twitter.com/DbQwvaTdRa
— La Tri 🇪🇨 (@LaTri) September 7, 2023
How to watch Argentina vs Ecuador
- Date: Thursday, September 7 (local)
- Time: 1:00 a.m. BST (Sep 8) / 8:00 p.m. ET (Sep 7)
- Live stream: ViX
Following a late agreement, broadcast rights for Argentina's World Cup qualifiers in the United States have been secured by Telemundo and Univision. That means viewers in the USA should be able to stream this match via ViX, TelevisaUnivision's Spanish-language service.
The match is not set to be available globally to regions including Australia, Canada, and the United Kingdom.
CONMEBOL has thus far decided to sell the broadcast rights to 2026 World Cup qualifiers on an individual basis, allowing the host nation's federation for each match to sell the rights themselves.
Streaming service Fanatiz has acquired the rights to certain CONMEBOL matches in this September international window, but neither Argentina match is amongst that group to this point.
