With six and a half places secured, qualifying for the 2026 World Cup will be a smooth ride. Ideal even so that Scaloni, from September against Ecuador, can test the necessary adjustments and spare parts. After the conquest of the first World Cup, in 1978, DT César Menotti opted for the confirmation of the old group, plus the reinforcements of Diego Maradona and Ramón Díaz. However, even when the squad seemed superior, Argentina did not perform in Spain in 1982. Many years later, Osvaldo Ardiles admitted that the team did not have the same hunger, the same sacred fire as in 1978. Carlos Bilardo did change something else. It is incredible to remember now that, in its first game in Buenos Aires after the conquest of Mexico 86, the Bilardo National Team summoned barely 6,000 spectators, 4,000 of them Paraguayans who went to see their own team. That Selection was very poor between the World Cup and the World Cup, but it came first in Mexico and second in Italy.
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