90'+2' GAME OVER!
90'+2' Rebound falls to Jose Gimenez but his volley lands safely in Sergio Romero's hands.
90'+1' Di Maria replaced by Joaquin Correa.
90'+1' Ceballo Rodriguez ready to whip in the free.
90' Cavani fouledby Pizarro as normal time expires.
86' Nothing happening at all here.
83' Christian Stuani is Luis Suarez' replacement.
82' Suarez is actually lucky he is going off. He caught Otamendi with a very high foot down along the shin.
81' Suarez definitely finished now. He had been limping around for quite some time but went for a ball and grabs his knee as he falls.
79' Di Maria and Messi link up and then get Pastore involved, who pulls a cross back to Icardi. Godin puts him under pressure and he falls in a heap. Referee waves his hands to say NO emphatically. No chance of a penalty for that.
78' Biglia sends it long to the back post and Jose Gimenez dives to head it out for a corner.
77' Messi fouled now by rodriguez and he receives a yellow.
75' Free from Suárez and Caceres trying to drive through a number of defenders to get something on it. No dice.
72' Dangerous one whipped in by Messi but Uruguay survive the scare.
71' Dybala being replaced by Javier Pastore.
70' Nandez fouls Dybala and Argentina with a chance to swing one in.
69' Uruguay awarded a corner after some debate. It hit Rodriguez last and he bought that one with his pleas with the ref. No matter anyway as uruguay commit a foul as the ball flies into the box.
68' Alvaro Gonzalez replaced by Mathias Corujo.
67' Game just can't seem to get going. Dybala fouls Rodriguez.
65' Cavani might be in trouble here. He jumps backwards into Mercado with an elbow into Mercado's face. Free but nothing else. He's lucky.
63' Di Maria with the latest cross. Straight to Muslera again.
61' Sampaoli makes a move. Acuña is replaced by Acosta.
61' Too much on a pass from Nandez down the line. It goes out for a goal-kick but he crosses and Suárez almost turns it into the goal. It wouldn't have counted anyway.
60' Still nothing doing. Biglia clips one goalwards but Muslera gathers.
58' It is indeed. He forces an excellent save from Muslera. Corner to Argentina.
57' A couple of could-be fouls as Pizarro is stopped by Vecino and then Messi stopped by Godin before Dybala is taken down and ref blows his whistle. Messi territory.
55' Mercado and Suárez get into it and Romero pushed Mercado away and tells him not to get involved. The former is on a yellow.
53' Chance for Uruguay to break but Cacers with a silly ball as opposed to playing it out wide to Nandez. He knows it too.
51' What just happened? Suarez was free through on goal. But he looked to slip as Romero approached him to close his angles. Suarez grabs his face as though he was hit by Fazio but he was pulling at straws. He slipped and fell into Fazio and said he'd try and get something out of it. Ref didn't buy it.
50' Suarez goes down in a heap as Mercado jumps into his back.
50' Icardi gets a shot away from an impossible angle. Mualera tames it and then picks it up.
48' uruguay break at speed. Nandez have an old school battle down the end-line before Nandez fouls. Nice lively start to the second half.
46' A real schmoozle breaking out. Messi was chopped down by Gonzalez and gets a yellow but not before his Argentina teammates can pile on and push and shove him a bit. Was actually quite a dangerous tackle.
46' No changes for either side.
46' We are back underway.
Óscar Tabárez will be happy enough with how things are going. Sampaoli might consider it though.
Does either coach make a change?
Argentina nervous to strt but have grown into the game while Uruguay have faded somewhat. Messi with Argentina's best chance of the half.
45' Half-time.
45' Argentina trying to break. Dybala with a nice run and passes to Acuña but it's either behind him or Acuña misread it completely and can't recover.
44' Mercado fouls Cavani. Seemed trivial but uruguay want a card as it's his third fould, according to Cavani. Just the free for now.
43' Yet again, Messi the catalyst. Lovely move as he links with Dybala and then strikes with his left. Mueslera forced into a save.
41' Gimenez actually booked for that one. Didn't seem much in it but referee deemed it dangerous.
41' Jose Gimenez catches a kick on the back of the calf. He gives away the free for having his foot high but tries to explain to the ref what happened. Ref doesn't care.
39' Biglia with a strike from way out and it flies just wide. He had Muslera reaching there. Took a deflection on the way out. Corner. Muslera gathers that one.
38' So close to the opener. Rodriguez shoots, Romato parries and Cavani gets to the rebound first but can't do anything with it as he is closed down. Vecino arrives but his shot is wide. We almost had an opener.
36' Messi to Di Maria around the back again. He pulls it back, which is all he can do, but Uruguay's defenders positioned well and clear at front post.
35' Hefty challenge by Mercado on Cavani.
34' Poor cross is cleared poorlyand it almost lands at Dybala's feet but Uruguay scramble it away.
31' Really good thinking from Suarez. Cavani wins possession back and the ball rolls to the Barcelona striker. He knows he has zero support and not enough speed to break free so he tries to lob Romero, whoc is off his line. Close but it needed to come down earlier.
30' Ball in around the back by Messi might have been a shot but it turns into somewhat of a cross. Otamendi reaches at the back post but can't get there. Goal-kick.
29' Messi with a lovely little flick towards Dybala. He strikes but his shot is deflected out for a corner.
27' Acuña fouls Cavani and gives Uruguay a chance to build an attack.
25' Suarez goes in a little late on Biglia. Players from Argentina want a card but the ref resists. It was Di Maria, who left the pass short, that was the cause of that.
23' Mercado takes a pass from Messi and he runs into it, driving a shot over the bar. Worth a try.
21' Messi starts a move and that's the best one Argentina have been involved in. He plays it to Di Maria over the top and the PSG player drills a cross across the box. Nobody arriving to meet it but clear as day that Messi, as always, will be key here to anything Argentina do.
19' Messi being watched by Vecino all night, it looks like. Fouls him this time. Free from a mile out. He plays it to Di Maria but after shuffling and getting the ball out from under his feet, he plays it out over the line with the help of a deflection. Uruguay crowd enjoying every time an attack breaks down.
17' Again, Argentina lose out in the final third. They've failed to really penetrate Uruguay's defense.
14' Di Maria with a dangerous cross from the corner. Otamendi is climbing up on Godin's back. Free to the defender. Another fairly obvious one.
13' Suarez swings it in. Falls to Gonzalez as it is half-cleared and his shot makes it's way to Godin, who is only about 30 yards offside.
12' Handball by Di Maria. Gonzalez seemed to kick the ball into his hand as opposed to the PSG player making a move to handle it.
12' Uruguay bossing possession now as Argentina look a little confused.
11' Mercado down holding his side. He collided with Vecino in the air. Truth be told, Vecino was late.
10' Another corner.
9' Suarez croses with his left, more hopeful than anything else. It should be cleared by Fazio misses it and it rolls out for a corner.
8' Uruguay sitting and waiting for Argentina to run into trouble before winning it back and counter-attacking with some early precision.
7' Vecino finds Cacers and he whips a dangerous ball into the box. Surez reaching but just not able to get anything on it.
7' Ball clipped inside to Cavani but two Argentina defenders head away. It bounces just nice for Nandez but his volley is blocked. He wants a handball and penalty, presumably, but decides to keep chasing the loose ball instead.
6' Di Maria sends a ball in from the left with his left but it bounces up kindly to Muslera.
5' Biglia fouls Gonzalez after Messi is dispossessed. Messi was swarmed there very quickly. I'd expect that to be a recurring theme tonight.
3' Sampaoli's fingerprints on this performance already. Argentina don't look entirely comfortable with the style. Playing around at the back.
2' Messi on the move down the right and is stopped by Alvaro Gonzalez. He wins a throw though.
1' Muslera gathers a through ball looking for Icardi. He is playing for Uruguay but was born in Buenos Aires.
We are undeway after a slight delay. 1'
A massive hug between Suarez and Messi.
The national anthems now being played. A lively rendition of Uruguay's currently plaring in Estadio Centenario.
Suarez and Cavani warming up.
Edinson Cavani leads the way in the goalscoring charts withs 9 in World Cup Qualifying in this group. The closest to him is Felipe Caicedo wth 7 for Ecuador while Messi has just four and Luis Suarez just 3.
They're still a point ahead of Argentina though.
Uruguay have lost their last two games in qualifying. They were hammered by Brazil 4-1 and beaten by Peru 2-1 in their most recent game.
Luis Suarez does in fact start up front with Edinson Cavani. Starting XI: Muslera, Caceres, Gimenez, Godin, Silva, Nandez, Gonzalez, Rodriguez, Suarez, Cavani.
Argentina's last game in World Cup Qualifying came in March when they lost to Bolivia 2-0 without Lionel Messi, who was suspended. Only three players from that team survive Sampaoli's first competitive game in charge. Di Maria, Pizarro and Romero in goals.
Looks like Sampaoli will play with a 3-2-4-1.
Meanwhile, Colombia and Venezuela kick off and a loss for Colombia could see Argentina catch them on points (but their goal difference is miles better than the Albiceleste's).
We have Argentina's team news: Romero; Mercado, Fazio, Otamendi; Acuña, Biglia, Pizarro, Di Maria; Messi, Dybala and Icardi
All the times across the world for the games tonight.
A nice piece on some of the key match-ups between Argentina and Uruguay tonight.
This piece by Jonathan Wilson provided useful context to how Argentina are faring coming in to this Rioplatense derby.
When an over the top security rather brutally whisked a young fan away Messi hit (even higher) hero status... watch the video, it'll make you feel good.
Good afternoon! Join us for the build-up ahead of tonight's match-up in Montevideo!