Argentina will be playing in front of their home fans for the first time since retaining the Copa America title in July, when they beat Colombia 1-0 after extra time to lift South America's most prestigious trophy for an unprecedented 16th time.

Lionel Scaloni, who boasts a 71.4 per cent win record at the helm of La Albiceleste, has now led his country to glory at three successive major tournaments and they are on course to qualify for the 2026 World Cup after a strong start to CONMEBOL qualifying.

Indeed, Argentina sit top of the South American standings, two points clear of second-placed Uruguay, after winning five of their opening six qualifiers, picking up maximum points against Ecuador, Bolivia, Paraguay, Peru and, most recently, Brazil, whom they beat 1-0 away in November last year.

Argentina's only defeat of the qualifiers came just five days earlier, when they were beaten 2-0 by Uruguay - one of only two defeats in 62 matches in all competitions since July 2019.

The world's top-ranked team can strengthen their grip on the top spot with a win over Thursday's opponents Chile, who they last defeated 1-0 in the group stage of this summer's Copa America.

Chile are bidding to qualify for their first World Cup since 2014, but they have made a less than ideal start to CONMEBOL qualifying, losing three, drawing two and winning just one of their opening six games.

La Roja's only win came in a 2-0 defeat of Peru on the third matchday, and since then they have taken just one point from their last three qualifiers, most recently a 1-0 away defeat to Ecuador in November last year.

Eduardo Berizzo resigned shortly after that defeat and has since been replaced by Argentinian Ricardo Gareca, who has won two, drawn two and lost two of his first six games in charge.

Chile, who were ranked third in the world by FIFA in 2016 but have since slipped to 43rd, were eliminated at the group stage of the Copa America for the first time in two decades after taking just one point from three games over the summer.

Gareca's men are determined to put things right and turn their fortunes around, although success on Thursday could prove a challenge as they have failed to win any of their 13 previous meetings with Argentina in all competitions since a narrow 1-0 victory in World Cup qualifying in October 2008.

Prediction:Argentina 2-0 Chile

Argentina vs Chile stream and TV listing

International：Holasports