The Superclásico returns, La Albiceleste hosts Seleção

No matter how tough any situation is, the greatest rivalries in the world always take the centre stage of attention. From politics to war to sports, this simple theory applies to its fullest in every sector. One such great rivalry is the rivalry among two countries in the southern subregion of America. This rivalry is often and quite indubitably dubbed as the greatest rivalry in the history of sports, most precisely the "beautiful game" of football.

From one generation to another, this South American rivalry has taken its place into the hearts and minds of people. The clash of Argentina and Brazil this time has its own taste and preference of beauty. The White and Sky Blues have their very recent Copa America glory right beside their name, while the Green and Yellow already have one step in Qatar for next year's greatest show on earth.

Lionel Scaloni's La Albiceleste are on a run of their own. Since the introduction of Scaloni as the head coach of Argentina three years ago, the fate of the team changed quite drastically. Although Scaloni has won Argentina their first major international trophy after 28 years, he has yet not stopped. The Leo Messi led team is currently unbeaten in their FIFA World Cup qualifier campaign. But in the bigger picture, they are unbeaten for the last 26 matches.

Even though Argentina would feel they have the upperhand, Tite has his Brazil team shaped up in a perfect rhythm. Having secured their qualification for the FIFA World Cup next year, Brazil would feel confident with their squad depth. They have the most goals scored in the qualification stages along with the least goals conceded. However, Tite has been widely criticised for his squad selections over the period of time and the unavailability of defensive midfielder Casemiro and star player Neymar Jr. respectively for suspension and left thigh injury will definitely be a headache for the Selecao coach.

Argentina have a superlative defensive record with their centre-back duo Cristian Romero and Nicolas Otamendi alongside goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez. The three have not conceded any goal in the 576 minutes they played together in. Besides, Rodrigo De Paul brought the strength and skills La Albiceleste lacked in the midfield.

In contrast to Argentina, Brazil will have the services of the in-form winger Vinicius Jr. Vinicius has shown his class for Real Madrid in the ongoing season of retribution contributing both with goals and assists. Tite has a set of players that he can use in continuous matches but he is set to continue making changes to his lineup, possibly with Matheus Cunha replacing Gabriel Jesus up front. Eder Militao will also take the place of Thiago Silva.

The first encounter between the two teams in the qualifying stage was stopped after seven minutes of play in September by Brazilian authorities enforcing protocols in place for the COVID-19 pandemic. Although only 25,000 fans in San Juan will attend the match, yet Argentina's northwest part would be delighted to see the host and it's rival taking part in a sheer spectacle encounter. 

The grandiose stages do not always require a motive for an exhilarating showdown, but the pride at stake is rather intuitive. Although the Selecaos have already qualified for the World Cup and La Albicelestes require only a win to proceed, the excitement of these two teams' encounter will definitely leave things behind. The city of San Juan will undoubtedly deliver a fine art of clash of the arch-rivals.