The standout fixture of the most recent set of CONMEBOL 2026 World Cup qualifiers served as perfect evidence why as far as rivalry matchups are concerned, a team's form heading into the match as well as the team's outright odds to win take on a diminished importance. As is so often the case, this one came down to "who wanted it more".
Argentina lost a match for the first time since winning the 2022 World Cup after Uruguay notched a 2-0 away victory against them. Barcelona centre-back Ronald Araújo opened the scoring for La Celeste shortly before halftime. Just three minutes before the end of regulation time, Liverpool striker Darwin Núñez scored Uruguay's second to seal the victory and slice Argentina's lead atop the qualifying leaderboard to just two points.
Uruguay displayed tremendous grit and guts to end La Albiceleste's unbeaten streak of 14 matches, keeping Argentina unsettled and on the back foot from almost the opening whistle. Additionally, while this may be just one match, it does raise further questions of this Argentina team - especially with the Copa América to be played at the end of the season.
After reaching the pinnacle of international football, it would only have been natural for Argentina's form to have dipped soon after. Like all other World Cup champions, every player on that Argentina team fulfilled a lifetime goal when they defeated France in Doha to reclaim the world title after 36 years. However, there is another layer to this matter as far as this Argentina team is concerned: the manner by which they won it.
Argentina's World Cup victory last year undoubtedly ranks among the most emotionally- and sentimentally-charged victories not only in World Cup or even football history, but in sports history. Long before the squad even arrived in Qatar, there had always been an undercurrent of "win it for Lionel Messi" that served to drive the team on to greater heights. This was certainly understandable - at the time, only a World Cup victory was needed for Messi to expunge any remaining doubts and cement himself as unquestionably the greatest footballer of all time.
Of course, Messi and Argentina delivered in a climax seemingly taken directly from a sports movie. However, after the tournament's end, one might have wondered about the victory's effects on the players' psyches. The physical exertions of the tournament aside, the sheer mental and emotional drain such a win could have had on the team might have led Argentina to have come out flat in the matches immediately following the World Cup.
This initially appeared not to be the case. Prior to this Uruguay match, Argentina did not lose any of their eight matches since the World Cup. That being said, it had to be noted that in the qualifiers for the next World Cup, Argentina's most difficult matches were yet to come - starting with this match against Uruguay at La Bombonera. Argentina's next match will also be against an arch-rival: next up for them is Brazil away next week.
Going back to the Uruguay match, what stood out most negatively for Argentina was the fact that they were outworked and out-hustled. This is particularly damning given the fact that this was a rivalry match-up - the type of match which one would expect players to enter the field full of vigour, passion, and energy. None of those words described Argentina in this match - and one has to wonder: could this be the first sign of the post-World Cup let-up? The upcoming match against Brazil will surely answer a lot of questions.
If Argentina once again drop points against Brazil after being a step behind from kick-off, serious doubts have to be cast over their Copa chances in half a year's time. While they would not be the first team to have ever experienced a decline after winning the World Cup, to see it happen in this way would certainly be eye-opening.
Of course, to outright dismiss Argentina's prospects going forward would be foolish indeed. That being said, the match against Uruguay proves that the cracks may be starting to show themselves. More performances like that - which would not even be all that unrealistic - would not bode well for their chances of defending their continental title.
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