Argentina faced a tough test against Colombia on Matchday 16 of the 2026 CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers. After Luis Díaz gave the visitors the lead with a brilliant solo goal, things went from bad to worse for La Albiceleste when Enzo Fernández was shown a red card for a dangerous challenge on Kevin Castaño.
In the 70th minute, Fernández attempted to play a bouncing ball with his right foot but instead caught Castaño in the head with his boot. The Colombian midfielder went down in visible pain, and after a brief pause, referee Juan Gabriel Benítez issued a straight red card to the Argentine midfielder.
Despite being down to 10 men and trailing on the scoreboard, Argentina managed to claw their way back. With Lionel Messi already off the pitch, Argentina took a quick throw-in, and Thiago Almada unleashed a thunderous strike from the edge of the box to level the match in the 81st minute.
Red cards: A rare sight in Scaloni’s era
Under manager Lionel Scaloni, Argentina has become known not just for technical brilliance, but also for discipline and physical balance—a trademark of the team’s recent success. That control has made red cards a rare occurrence during his tenure.
The first red card of the Scaloni era came in surprising fashion, when Lionel Messi was sent off in a heated exchange with Gary Medel during the third-place match of the 2019 Copa América. The call was controversial, and the ejection marked a rare moment of tension for the Argentine captain.
It would be years before Argentina saw red again. In March 2025, Nicolás González was sent off late in a qualifier against Uruguay after an accidental high boot to Nahitan Nández in stoppage time. Now, with Fernández’s dismissal, this marks just the third red card under Scaloni’s leadership.
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