Before the packed international programme in Europe on Friday night, some FCB pros were in the thick of the action in World Cup qualifiers in South America and Africa in the early morning (CET). Arturo Vidal made the starting line-up for Chile in the match against Colombia and even scored shortly before the break (45), but the match ended in a 1-1 draw as Real Madrid's James netted an equaliser in the second half (68). After starting off with two victories, Chile dropped points for the first time on Matchday 3.
Douglas Costa should have played as well, but giants Brazil and Argentina could not cross swords due to a torrential downpour in Buenos Aires. Referee Antonio Arias from Paraguay deemed the pitch to be unplayable. Barring unforeseen circumstances the mouth-watering duel will take place exactly 24 hours later, on Saturday at 1 am CET.
Mehdi Benatia and his Moroccan team-mates on the other hand have already taken on their opponents in the World Cup qualifiers. Youssef El Arabi (30) and Yacine Bammou (66) scored for Morocco in the 2-0 victory over Equatorial Guinea in Agadir. Benatia covered the full distance. In the last two FCB matches the central defender was subbed on after recovering from a muscular injury.
Topics of this article