World Cup qualifying: Brazil, Argentina turn to young stars

By David Mosse
FOX Sports Soccer Researcher

South American World Cup qualifying resumes this week, minus the region’s two biggest stars.

Neymar is still recovering from an ankle injury, and Lionel Messi only recently returned from a lengthy layoff and was left out by Argentina — but like Brazil, La Albiceste have already secured their place in Qatar.

The absence of the PSG pair does mean others will command the spotlight for a change, and much of the attention should center on two talented 21-year-olds looking to stake their claim to a prominent role at the next World Cup.

For Brazil, all eyes are on Vinicius Junior. After three years of flashing potential, he has finally put it all together at Real Madrid, thanks in large part to the guidance of Carlo Ancelotti. His 15 goals and eight assists this season are evidence of a player learning to harness his devastating combination of pace and skill.

Now it’s a matter of country catching up to club, given that Vinicius has started only two games for Brazil. That number figures to increase in the coming days, with the five-time World Cup champions set to play away to Ecuador and home to Paraguay.

Neymar’s drift into a more central position means the left-wing spot is up for grabs, and Vinicius has a golden opportunity to make it permanently his own.

Just as intriguing are the future prospects of Argentina’s Julian Alvarez, who, unlike Vinicius, resisted the urge to move to Europe as a teenager. Alvarez, who turns 22 at the end of this month, opted instead to hone his skills at River Plate under the tutelage of Marcelo Gallardo.

That decision is paying off in a major way, as he was recently named South American Player of the Year, the youngest recipient of the award since Neymar. The next step is global stardom for a player who made one substitute appearance in last summer’s triumphant Copa America campaign.

Alvarez is more of a support striker who floats between the lines and prefers to run at defenders from deeper positions. But he has earned some comparisons to Sergio Aguero, with whom Messi struck up such a lethal partnership early in their international careers.

The River Plate youngster hopes to shine in Argentina’s upcoming games, away to Chile and home to Colombia, and 2022 appears to be the year when he’ll finally make the trek overseas, with reports of a transfer agreed upon to Manchester City.

Such a move would mean joining the club with which Aguero achieved his greatest success and playing for the manager in Pep Guardiola who helped Messi on his path to immortality. Alvarez’s development in the next 10 months could be a big factor in Messi’s quest for that elusive World Cup crown.

OTHER NEWS AND NOTES

Chile in a high-pressure spot

Chile are facing questions about the decision to schedule their home game against Argentina in the city of Calama, located in the Northern desert. 

The thinking is the altitude will adversely affect Argentina and will prepare Martin Lasarte’s men for their next match against Bolivia in La Paz. But the conditions in Calama figure to be just as inhospitable for the hosts, who are desperate for three points.

The bigger issue for Chile is the absence of Arturo Vidal, who picked up a two-game suspension for an incident in November against Ecuador. Vidal was sent off for a boot to the face of Felix Torres, and the 2-0 defeat that day halted all of La Roja’s recent momentum after they had won their previous three matches. They enter this window just outside the qualification spots.

Can Uruguay awaken?

Uruguay begin life under Diego Alonso after longtime manager Oscar Tabarez was, unsurprisingly, let go at the end of last year. Alonso’s task is to rescue a campaign that has gone completely off the rails, with La Celeste languishing in seventh place at the start of this window. 

Uruguay, who play away to Paraguay and home to Venezuela, collected only one point from their final five matches of 2021.

The new boss has big calls to make involving the old guard, including whether Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani should start together up top and whether Diego Godin is still deserving of a place at the back. It will also be interesting to see how he utilizes talented, left-footed playmaker Facundo Torres, who just secured a lucrative move to MLS’ Orlando City.

Can Colombia find its scoring?

Colombia are somehow still clinging to a qualification spot, despite the fact that they failed to score in their last five matches of 2021. The good news is they conceded only once in that span, but manager Reinaldo Rueda is determined to get his attack on track in upcoming games, home to Peru and away to Argentina. Hence the presence once again of James Rodriguez.

The hope is that Rodriguez and Juan Cuadrado can provide service to the ageless Radamel Falcao, while Los Cafeteros are also counting on strong performances from Luis Diaz. The 25-year-old is enjoying a sensational season with Porto after emerging as one of the breakout stars at the previous Copa America. He scored Colombia’s last qualifying goal, which came in a 3-1 victory over Chile in September.

Bolivia has a great chance

Bolivia’s most recent World Cup appearance came in the United States back in 1994. They have a legitimate shot at ending that drought, thanks to a run of three wins in the past four matches, which left them just two points out of a qualification spot entering this window. All three of those victories came in the altitude of La Paz, which is where La Verde continue to do most of their damage.

But the upcoming visit to Venezuela shapes up as a genuinely winnable away game, given La Vinotinto’s disastrous form throughout this campaign. Bolivia will also expect to knock off Chile at home in the other match, particularly if star striker Marcelo Moreno can produce the kind of form that currently has him atop the scoring charts in South American qualifying, with nine goals.

David Mosse is a soccer researcher and writer for FOX Sports. He has covered multiple FIFA World Cups, and he also serves as cohost of Alexi Lalas’ State of the Union Podcast.