Fans can watch the Brazil vs. Argentina football match live online and see which team gains an advantage in the road to the next World Cup.
The teams meet in a World Cup 2018 qualifying match, kicking off Friday at 7 p.m. ET from el Monumental in Buenos Aires.
Fans who watch the Brazil vs. Argentina football match live online will see the return of Brazilian captain Neymar, who is back from the four-game suspension he earned during the Copa America. He appears to be at the top of his game, coming off a strong performance this past weekend for Barcelona against Villarreal.
Give Neymar the ball and he will do the rest, he is going to be key this game pic.twitter.com/jDtJeBtfBt — Brazil Football (@BrazilEdition) November 12, 2015
As ESPNFC writer Tim Vickery noted, the much accomplished Neymar still has something to prove in the international game.
“Since his debut, there have been two Copa Americas — the first of which came in 2011 when he was still finding his feet, and the second, earlier this year, ended prematurely with his suspension. There was the 2013 Confederations Cup, where he shone so brightly — arguably not the most competitive tournament around. And, of course, there was last year’s World Cup, where he flickered with the odd fine moment before picking up an injury in the quarterfinal against Colombia.”
It’s not clear how much faith Brazil is putting in Neymar, Vickery wrote. They recalled Kaka from Orlando City, a bit of a surprise given that the 33-year-old midfielder likely won’t play in the next World Cup. But the recall could speak to the team’s lack of confidence in Neymar, Vickery wrote.
Neymar is back for Brazil as they prepare to face an Argentina side without Messi & Aguero https://t.co/hwYHni5W4h pic.twitter.com/m234vDSm1C — BBC Sport (@BBCSport) November 11, 2015
Brazil now has a tougher road to the World Cup, Vickery noted. As the host nation in 2014, Brazil did not have to go through the rigorous qualifying process, but now is back at it. The team is off to a good start, including a 2-0 win over Chile last month.
Both teams will be under pressure in Thursday’s contest, with Copa America winner Chile on the rise and Colombia fielding its best team in decades.
The new format of the tournament is helping give rise to the normally lesser teams, Fox Sports noted.
“The structure Conmebol introduced for qualifying before the 1998 World Cup, whereby everybody plays everybody else home and away, has had the desired effect: with regular games against the elite, the traditional minnows have enjoyed greater revenues and exposure than ever before and the result has been a raising of standards across the board. What that means, though, is that the two traditional superpowers can no longer take their qualification for granted.”
That also means that Thursday’s game will take on added importance, with each team needing a win to stay ahead of the qualifying process. Brazil comes into Thursday’s match with two points on Argentina, which is trying to move past losses in the Copa America and World Cup finals in the span of a few months.
