Revealing Argentina's lineup against Paraguay, Brazil surprisingly chooses Neymar's replacement

In the 11th round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America, both Argentina and Brazil will play away. Albiceleste will travel to Asuncion to meet Paraguay, who are playing well, at 6:30 a.m. on November 15. Selecao will travel to Maturin to meet Venezuela at 4 a.m. on the same day. This round also includes a key match between Uruguay and Colombia at 7 a.m. on November 16.

Argentina players help Messi find joy again after shock at Inter Miami

Argentina's defense has been shaken up as both centre-back Lisandro Martinez and defender German Pezzella were forced to miss out due to injuries. Coach Scaloni had to urgently call up player Facundo Medina from Lens (France) to fill in.

"Facundo Medina booked his own plane ticket because he was so eager to join us. That's something to be appreciated and for us, it's great. He took care of everything himself. He spoke to his coach, booked his ticket and arrived in time to join the team just one day before we flew to Paraguay. It was a passionate message from Facundo Medina to his teammates," coach Scaloni expressed when talking about the last-minute call-up of defender Facundo Medina.

Facundo Medina is only a backup, though, and Scaloni could have already picked Cristian Romero and Nicolas Otamendi as his replacements, with Molina and Tagliafico as his usual full-backs. In midfield, De Paul, Enzo Fernandez, Mac Allister, Paredes or Lo Celso or Almada, while Messi is certain to start alongside Alvarez or Lautaro Martinez. In goal, goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez, who is back from suspension, will also return to his starting position.

Another option for coach Scaloni in the attack of the Argentina team is to play with a 3-man midfield consisting of De Paul, Enzo Fernandez and Mac Allister. In the attack, Messi will play behind Lautaro Martinez and Alvarez.

Messi, on his recent return to the Argentina national team, scored a hat-trick in a 6-0 win over Bolivia.

Argentina is leading the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America with 22 points after 10 matches. Meanwhile, Paraguay is ranked 6th with 13 points, and has been unbeaten in the last 4 matches, including 2 home wins and 2 away draws. This will be a tough opponent for Messi and his teammates in the goal of continuing to win to maintain the top position in the group.

Neymar's number 10 shirt has a new owner

The Brazilian team made a big change when midfielder Raphinha chose to wear the number 10 shirt left by star Neymar. This shirt number was previously worn by striker Rodrygo temporarily, including the time playing in the Copa America.

However, Rodrygo had to leave early in this competition due to injury. Center-back Eder Militao was also absent for a long time due to a serious injury, while young striker Endrick was eliminated due to having too little playing time at Real Madrid.

Raphinha deserves to wear the number 10 shirt left by Neymar

Brazil coach Dorival Junior has decided to give Raphinha the number 10 shirt, which is likely to be a long-term choice, as Neymar is still not known when he will return to play.

Raphinha is having an extremely impressive season for FC Barcelona, ​​scoring 12 goals and providing 10 assists in 17 matches. In the Selecao shirt in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America, this player contributed 3 goals, along with Rodrygo who also scored 3 goals, being the top scorers. Above all, when Neymar is not playing, Raphinha and Lucas Paqueta are the ones leading the Brazilian team's attack.

Brazil is currently ranked 4th in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America with 16 points after 10 matches. If they continue to get good results against Venezuela on November 15 and Uruguay on November 20, Selecao will further strengthen their chances of qualifying for the finals.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/tiet-lo-doi-hinh-argentina-dau-paraguay-brazil-bat-ngo-chon-nguoi-thay-neymar-185241114092350473.htm