Episode 268: Argentina are off to Russia. It was never in doubt

The two hundred and sixty-eighth episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam, Peter and Andrés discuss Argentina’s qualification for the Russia 2018 World Cup, in spite of a 0-0 draw at home to Peru last Thursday and owing rather more to a hat trick from Lionel Messi in Quito which brought a 3-1 win away to Ecuador on Tuesday, in the last match of the campaign. What comes next, what needs to be tweaked, and what should remain the same are all up for discussion.

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Last week, Dan beat Sam in the World Cup qualifying predict-off. This week, Mystic Gav takes Sam on at predicting the next round of Superliga action.

Gav
Lanús v Unión
San Lorenzo v Defensa y Justicia
Colón v Temperley
Central v Argentinos
Estudiantes v Banfield
Vélez v Newell’s
Racing v Tigre
Chacarita v Independiente
Godoy Cruz v Gimnasia
Belgrano v Talleres
River v Atl. Tucumán
Patronato v Boca
Olimpo v Huracán
Arsenal v San Martín

Sam
Lanús v Unión
San Lorenzo v Defensa y Justicia
Colón v Temperley
Central v Argentinos
Estudiantes v Banfield
Vélez v Newell’s
Racing v Tigre
Chacarita v Independiente
Godoy Cruz v Gimnasia
Belgrano v Talleres
River v Atl. Tucumán
Patronato v Boca
Olimpo v Huracán
Arsenal v San Martín

Episode 202: Boca close in on the title and Argentina gear up for World Cup qualifying

The two hundred and second episode of Hand Of Pod sees Sam, English Dan and Andrés convene to discuss a weekend of football which saw Boca Juniors open up an imposing six point lead at the top of the table with just three matches remaining. Following San Lorenzo and Rosario Central’s 2-2 draw, Boca struggled a bit but still beat Crucero del Norte 1-0, as a result of which Crucero, to no-one’s surprise, are relegated. Still clinging on to their Primera status – for now – are Nueva Chicago, who grabbed a 2-1 win over Vélez Sarsfield. River Plate put in an awful performance and were well beaten, 3-0 by Independiente, and Quilmes’ good form continued. This weekend the Primera takes a break for the first double-header of CONMEBOL’s marathon World Cup qualifying campaign, which will see a Lionel Messi-less Argentina host Ecuador on Thursday and travel to Paraguay on Tuesday. HOP is sponsored by Argentina Independent, a fine English-language source of news from Argentina and across Latin America.

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Mystic Sam’s World Cup Qualifying predictions (last week in the league: 7/15)
Argentina 3-0 Ecuador
Paraguay 1-2 Argentina