Lionel Messi and Argentina lined up against Uruguay in 2026 World Cup qualifying action at La Bombonera due to the global influence of Taylor Swift.

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• World champions tend to play at home of River Plate
• Forced into making a change to their plans
• Pop superstar in South America as part of Eras Tour

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  WHAT HAPPENED?

  The 2022 World Cup winners tend to favour the River Plate base of El Monumental when taking in eagerly-anticipated encounters on home soil – with that venue able to welcome over 84,000 spectators through the doors. They have, however, had to make do with heading to the home of Boca Juniors instead.

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  THE BIGGER PICTURE

  The iconic La Bombonera stadium, which boasts a capacity of 57,000, played host to a clash with neighbours Uruguay on Thursday that saw the visitors claim a shock 2-1 win – with Messi and Co suffering their first defeat since claiming a global crown in Qatar.

• DID YOU KNOW?

  A revision to the standard schedule for Argentina had to be made due to the presence of pop superstar Swift in South America. She is currently working through her epic ‘The Eras Tour’ and took in three dates at El Monumental between 9-11 November.

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  WHAT NEXT?

  The pitch in Buenos Aires is now having to recover from those events, leading to Argentina crossing the nation’s capital to La Bombonera. Swift is now heading to Brazil for five shows in Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo, with the Albiceleste heading in a similar direction as they prepare to face arch-rivals at the legendary Maracana Stadium on Tuesday.

Tags: Futebol
Category: News