The Argentine national football side has consistently been able to qualify for the FIFA World Cup since the 1978 edition and have made impressive performances in almost every single year when the competition was held as they have either reached the quarter-finals or been the runner-up in many of the World Cups.
Argentina are currently at risk of losing this string of consecutive qualifications as they are positioned at the 5th spot of the CONMEBOL group stages for the upcoming 2018 FIFA World Cup.
The latest 2018 FIFA World Cup qualification match of Argentina saw them losing 0-2 against Bolivia and taking into consideration the fact that there are only 4 more qualification matches left as well as the recent suspension of Lionel Messi, Argentina might not be able to qualify for the worldwide football competition if they continue to drop points.
On March 23 of 2017, Argentina faced off with Chile and came out on top with a 1-0 triumph but it came at a hefty price as Lionel Messi received a 4 match suspension after being accused of insulting the assistant referee of that game.
FIFA’s decision to give Lionel Messi a 4 match ban is a fairly controversial one as the Argentine player was not even carded for his actions during the game and his punishment was instead given after the actual match was already over.
Barcelona responded to this recent suspension by saying that it was something: ‘’unfair and totally disproportionate’’
It appears like the impact of Lionel Messi’s absence is already being felt by the Argentine national football team as they lost 0-2 against Bolivia on March 28. This is the 1st match that Messi could not play for Argentine due to his suspension and he will have to be absent for 3 more matches for his national side which can be a huge blow for Argentina and seriously hamper their chances of qualifying for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.