Mascherano shoots down Sampaoli rift rumours

Diego Maradona has requested a meeting with Argentina's players in an attempt to inspire the struggling squad ahead of their crucial final World Cup group game against Nigeria.

The two-time world champions must beat Nigeria in Saint Petersburg on Tuesday if they are to avoid a premature exit following a disastrous 3-0 defeat by Croatia.

He said he would bring along other Argentina greats of the past for the motivational talk.

"I would love to hold a meeting with them, with (Nery) Pumpido, with (Sergio) Goycochea, with (Claudio) Caniggia, with (Pedro) Troglio, even with (Daniel) Passarella if he wants to come, and with (Jorge) Valdano," Maradona told Venezuelan TV channel Telesur.

"We're going to defend our honour, boys. It cost us too much to be where we are for Croatia to come and hit us for three goals and to leave with our arms crossed without anyone putting a foot in."

Maradona, who has criticised coach Jorge Sampaoli and striker Sergio Aguero in recent days, also took aim at Argentina Football Association (AFA) president Claudio Tapia in his latest outburst.

"I'm furious and very upset inside, because anyone who wore that (Argentina) shirt can't see it being trampled like that by a Croatian team that isn't Germany, that isn't Brazil, that isn't Holland or Spain," he said.

"But there is a guilty party and the culprit is the president of the AFA. Everyone just accepted it when Sampaoli came in with computers, with drones, with 14 assistants.

"I think there is a total lack of authority on Tapia's part."

Javier Mascherano, one of the squad's senior players, denied on Sunday that there was a rift between Sampaoli and the players.

Lionel Messi struck a vintage hattrick as world champions Argentina romped to a 6-0 win over Bolivia in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying on Tuesday.

The 37-year-old provided an emphatic reminder of his enduring quality with three clinical finishes, two assists and some of his trademark creativity throughout the game as Lionel Scaloni's side dominated.

The eight-time Ballon d'Or winner opened the scoring in the 19th minute when Bolivian defender Marcelo Suarez was robbed by Lautaro Martinez, who sent Messi clear and he cleverly slotted into the bottom corner.

The home crowd at Buenos Aires' Monumental Stadium were on their feet again in the 43rd minute when Julian Alvarez threaded a brilliant pass through to Messi, who unselfishly squared the ball to Martinez to finish.

Three minutes later, Alvarez was on target himself when Bolivia were caught sleeping at a free-kick, Messi chipping the ball over the top and the Atletico Madrid forward slotted home.

After the break, Nicolas Otamendi had a header ruled out for offside but the home fans didn't have long to wait for the fourth when Thiago Almada side-footed home after a superb pull-back from Nahuel Molina.

A classic Messi goal made it 5-0 in the 84th -- the Inter Miami forward dribbling centrally before switching from his left foot to his right and burying the ball into the bottom corner.

Two minutes later and some fans were in tears after Messi cut in from the right, played a smart wall pass off substitute Nico Paz and again put the ball beyond the reach of goalkeeper Guillermo Viscarra.

Argentina are top of the 10-team table with 22 points from ten games -- three points clear of second placed Colombia, who also enjoyed a handsome victory with a 4-0 crushing of Chile in Barranquilla.

- Colombians blank Chile -

There was a different look to the team, wearing a special retro white kit, marking the Colombian Football Federation's centenary, featuring the national flag's colours in a hoop.

It was a dashing design and the performance of Nestor Lorenzo's team was equally stylish as they took apart a woeful Chile side that remain rooted to bottom place in the ten-team qualifying group.

Defender Davinson Sanchez opened the scoring in the 34th minute, nodding home after Jhon Lucumi had headed a James Rodriguez corner goalwards.

Jhon Cordoba slotted home a Diaz cross in the 45th minute but the effort was ruled out for offside against Diaz.

Chile gifted the Colombians a second, seven minutes after the interval, when they attempted to play the ball out from the back and Benjamin Kusevic gave the ball away to Rodriguez, who squared to Liverpool winger Luis Diaz to convert.

Substitute Jhon Duran made it 3-0 in the 82nd minute after another giveaway, this time in midfield, allowed Sinisterra to break and then feed the Aston Villa forward, who made no mistake and Sinisterra then wrapped up the win in stoppage time.

Paraguay boosted their chances of grabbing one of the six automatic qualification spots after substitute Antonio Sanabria scored twice in a 2-1 win over Venezuela.

Full-back Jon Aramburu put Venezuela ahead in the 25th minute, bursting down the right and collecting a pass from Yeferson Soteldo that he buried in the bottom corner.

Torino striker Sanabria was introduced at the interval and he brought sixth-placed Paraguay level when he slid in to meet a low cross from Junior Alonso.

Sanabria then grabbed the winner in the 74th minute, leading a counter-attack before getting into the box to finish off the move with a header from close range.

Uruguay and Ecuador played out a goalless draw

England coach Gareth Southgate was keeping his feet firmly on the ground after England's 6-1 World Cup group-stage rout of Panama, declaring "I didn't particularly like the performance".

With a grin Southgate explained to the BBC: "I'm being hyper-critical, but I didn't like the start, I didn't like the goal at the end. The bits in the middle were pretty good though!"

Southgate was speaking after a hat-trick from Harry Kane, a double from John Stones and another from Jesse Lingard saw off Panama and qualified England into the knockout stages.

As it stands England are level on goal difference with also-qualified Belgium but top the group by virtue of yellow cards -- two compared to the Belgians' three.

The countries meet in Kaliningrad on Thursday.

Asked about possible changes to his XI to face Belgium, Southgate commented: "I want to keep the momentum, we have to think about the team we want to put out, it's an opportunity for players who need a match who haven't played for a while but on the other hand we want to keep winning.

"It's a nice decision to have!"

Reflecting on a record World Cup win for England -- their previous best result was 3-0 -- he added: "I was a bit anxious at the start, they (Panama) had six at the back and three in middle, but once we worked that out I thought we played some really good stuff for 35 minutes.

Southgate's main gripe was his defence allowing Felipe Baloy to score Panama's first ever World Cup goal in the 78th minute.

"At half-time we talked about one more goal to be top of the group, that's why the goal at the end was disappointing," he said.

"We'd rather be in control of the group than not, and confidence wise it's important to score goals.

"It was a big moment for Lingard and great for the captain (Kane) to score a hat-trick, that way he didn't have the hump when I took him off!"

World champions Argentina will host Chile tomorrow morning (6am, Bangladesh time) in a 2026 World Cup South American Qualifiers match at the Monumental Stadium in Buenos Aires.

The Albiceleste have won five of six qualifiers and are coming off a successful defense of their Copa America crown.

Chile, on the other hand, have won just once through six qualifiers and are out of the seventh-place playoff spot on goal differential and two points back of sixth-place Brazil.

Coach Lionel Scaloni will present a team without captain Lionel Messi and Angel Di Maria after a long time. The two significant absences force the World Cup winning coach to think about a renewed composition of the national team.

Without Messi, who is in the final stretch of his recovery from ankle injury he had sustained during Copa America final, and without Di Maria, who retired from the national team after winning the 2024 Copa América, the figure of Dibu Martinez as the standard-bearer guarding the three sticks is a fixed one.

With centre-back Cristian Romero as another stable figure in the starting eleven, his partner will likely be Nicolas Otamendi. 

Meanwhile, Lisandro Martinez could be the one to occupy the role of left wingback, although coach Scaloni had also opted for Marcos Acuna in the role. On the right side of defense, Nahuel Molina seems to be the frontrunner ahead of Gonzalo Montiel. 

In the middle of the pitch, Rodrigo De Paul and Alexis Mac Allister are a regular fixture in the nerve centre of the playing field, while Enzo Fernandez seems to be the one who makes up that triangle, winning the fight against Leandro Paredes.  

Finally, in the offensive aspect, there are various doubts and alternatives. With the loss of Di Maria, Nicolas Gonzalez would arrive as a strong alternative to replace him, but there is Alejandro Garnacho to consider.

However, to replace Lionel Messi the choice is more complex. For this, Paulo Dybala could be an alternative to start, but it is more feasible that Scaloni breaks the attacking trident by deploying four midfielders, with Julian Alvarez and Lautaro Martinez as the two forwards. 
 

Eager to strengthen their standing in the fiercely competitive South American World Cup qualifiers, Argentina will welcome a resurgent Bolivia in Buenos Aires on Wednesday (6:00 am, Bangladesh time), while an invigorated Brazil host bottom-placed Peru in Brasilia (6:45 am).

Reigning world champions Argentina remain top with 19 points, holding a three-point lead over Colombia, despite being held to a 1-1 draw by Venezuela in their previous match, where Lionel Messi returned from injury.

On the other hand, Bolivia enter this fixture on a high, following a gritty 1-0 victory over Colombia. It marked their third consecutive win in the qualifiers, moving them up to sixth place. With a top-six finish guaranteeing a place at the 2026 World Cup, Bolivia are inching closer to their first finals appearance in nearly 30 years.

However, facing Argentina in Buenos Aires is a formidable challenge. Bolivia have historically struggled in Argentina, managing only one point in 11 previous visits, but their strong recent form suggests they will not go down easily against Lionel Scaloni's team who have conceded just eight goals in their last 20 qualifiers fixtures.

Brazil, meanwhile, will be aiming to build on their thrilling 2-1 comeback against Chile. Substitute Luiz Henrique was the hero, netting a dramatic 89th-minute winner to secure three vital points. After a run of disappointing performances, this win has breathed new life into Brazil's campaign, lifting the five-time champions to fourth in the standings with 13 points, two behind Uruguay.