In the 15th round of the South American zone of the 2026 World Preliminaries, Messi will return to help the Argentine men's football team

The 15th round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers South America Zone rekindled on the 5th. Defending champion Argentina travels to Chile, Messi, who has been absent from the national team for more than half a year, will return to help, while Brazil travels to Ecuador, and new coach Carlo Ancelotti is aiming for a winning debut!

Carlo Ancelotti (right) made his debut in charge of Brazil, and the Samba Army will travel to Ecuador in the World Cup qualifiers, while Brazil, who are currently fourth, will be aiming for three points

The 37-year-old veteran last represented Argentina in November last year, and he has not played for Argentina since due to a muscle problem. In the South American zone, Argentina leads with 31 points from 14 rounds, leading Ecuador with 8 points, while Uruguay, Brazil and Paraguay are all in 3rd to 5th place with 21 points, Colombia is 6th with 20 points, Venezuela is 7th with 15 points, Bolivia is 8th with 14 points, Peru and Chile are last with 10 points. The top 6 finishers in this region qualify directly for the World Cup finals.

The Argentine coach has called up three new faces. In addition to Messi, Argentina coach Scaloni also recruited three new faces in his first training camp, namely Independiente defender Kevin Brown. Romonaco, defender Mariano, who plays for Belgrano. Trojlo and River Plate's 17-year-old striker Franco. Mastantuno.

With defender Otamendi suspended, Scaloni will be set to change the defence, with either Ballerdi or Medina expected to start. The midfield is also plagued by suspensions and injuries, with McAllister being missed, Enzo and Paredes suspended, and De Paul set to be backed by Palahios and Lo Celso.

The 37-year-old Messi (center) returns to the national team after seven months, and the picture shows Messi practicing with De Paul (from left) and Paredes in preparation for the match

Argentina has 2 wins and 1 loss in the last 3 rounds, and has won all the last 2 rounds; And Chile has 1 win, 1 draw and 1 loss in the last 3 rounds. In the first leg, Argentina won by 3 goals at home, and this game is optimistic about adding 3 points.

Brazil will be promoted to the second place if they are defeated. On the other hand, Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti led five-star Brazil for the first time, and his Brazilian debut was supported by Real Madrid midfielder Casemiro, and if Brazil successfully won all three points, he is expected to surpass Ecuador and Uruguay in this round to move up to the second place, temporarily reinforcing the pressure of the Samba Army. Raphinha is suspended for this game and will not return until the next game against Paraguay. Anshuai is expected to send Casemiro, Licharlison, Antony, and Alex Sandro and Marquinhos at the back. A win over Brazil would confirm Ecuador's qualification.

Paraguay hosts Uruguay in this round, and whoever wins will qualify. On Friday, Colombia played Peru at home and Venezuela at home against Bolivia.