SOCCER
Argentina team news: Why isn’t Emiliano Martínez playing against Venezuela?
The World Cup holders are looking to maintain their impressive run in qualifying for the 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Argentina return to World Cup qualifying on Thursday with a trip to Venezuela’s iconic Estadio Monumental.
The hosts are hoping to make it to their first ever World Cup at the 2026 tournament, while Argentina are already on the brink of booking their place. Lionel Scaloni’s team have won six of their opening eight games of this qualification cycle, enough for them to top the CONMEBOL group.
Scaloni has suffered a few key absences for the game. The most notable of which is Aston Villa goalkeeper Emiliano ‘Dibu’ Martínez, who was hit with a two-game ban for his behaviour after last month’s loss to Colombia. The FIFA disciplinary committee found him guilty of “violating principles of fair play.”
Argentina team news to face Venezuela
Also out for La Albiceleste is Manchester United’s Alejandro Garnacho, who picked up a knee issue in last weekend’s Premier League draw with Aston Villa. Also out, forwards Paulo Dybala and Nicolas Gonzalez. With all that in mind, here’s how Argentina line up against Venezuela...
Argentina come into the game as the favourites but they have not had it easy in preparations for this game. They began the training camp in Miami but saw the journey disrupted by Hurricane Milton, which is battering the Florida coastline at the moment. Scaloni’s side also had to deal with the political tensions between the United States and Venezuela, further complicating their travel plans.
“We can’t land directly in Maturín; we’ll have to make a stopover since flights from U.S. soil aren’t allowed to land directly in Venezuela,” the Argentina boss explained. “These are things beyond our control, just bad luck. The most important thing is the safety of everyone here and the well-being of the people affected by the hurricane.”