Things aren't all quite to plan so far, though - Lionel Messi and Sergio Agüero missed the session with minor physical issues, so the attacking trio was composed of Diego Milito, Gonzalo Bergessio and Carlos Tevez, who scored the only goal for the starters against the subs. Javier Zanetti, Javier Mascherano and Cristian Ledesma held the midfield behind Riquelme, whilst Nicolás Burdisso, Martín Demichelis and - wait for it - Gabriel Heinze formed the back three, in front of Juan Pablo Carrizo.

I'll be in London on Friday and Saturday nights to see a friend who's over from the United States. This means, of course, that I'll be missing the chance to watch the match live, but I'll be back on Sunday to link to any highlights or goal videos that become available. The likely starting XI will be that named above, but with Messi and Agüero coming in for Bergessio and Milito. It won't be confirmed until very shortly before kick off, as is Basile's wont. The match will kick off at 18:10 local time - 22:10 UK time.

Argentina play Uruguay in the Monumental on Saturday and whilst things are rarely friendly between two of the oldest rivals in international football, the sniping has come from an unexpected angle on Tuesday: Julio César Cáceres. That's Julio César Cáceres of Paraguay. Obviously seeking to crank up the pressure on a team currently trailing in Paraguay's wake in the World Cup qualifying table, Cáceres spoke out on Tuesday, and the target of his ire was one of his own club-mates - his captain, in fact: Boca Juniors' Juan Román Riquelme, who's responded in his trademark carefree, cheery fashion.

Cáceres was speaking in the context of current unrest at Boca following Mauricio Caranta's relegation to backup goalkeeper behind new boy Javier García, who started for the first time for the first team in the 2-1 home defeat to Estudiantes on Sunday. In international week, though, he didn't miss the opportunity to turn the interview with Paraguay's Radio Católica Cáritas into a tirade against certain aspects of the Argentine selección. Caranta met on Tuesday with Boca manager Carlos Ischia, but wasn't entirely satisfied with the reasons Ischia gave him for his sidelining. Cáceres spoke about that situation but saved the main portion of his criticism for Boca captain Riquelme.

'Riquelme when he plays for the Selección is more motivated than when he plays for Boca,' Cáceres told the interviewer, making a statement plenty of Argentina fans would probably disagree quite strongly with given JRR's performances for both his club and his country so far this year. 'He could be tired or mentally "saturated",' the Paraguayan continued, not so much hitting the nail on the head as driving it home with a sledgehammer. 'When you don't have any motivation, you need to spend a bit of time on the sidelines.' Cáceres compared Riquelme unfavourably with attacking partner Martín Palermo, a man who for all his successes with the club he's supported all his life, remains hungry for more.

The response from Riquelme, who's currently training separately from the rest of the Argentine squad in an effort to regain fitness due to a metatarsal problem, was scathing. 'He's left all his former clubs in the wrong manner,' said Riquelme, whose exits from first Barcelona and Villarreal I must have dreamt. 'The only thing [Cáceres] wants is to cause trouble. If he wanted to leave Boca, there was no need to pick on me.' He's certainly got a point there, and it might be added that if Cáceres didn't want to leave Boca, he could equally have spoken out about any of Argentina's other players from the squad this week. Where this is going we'll find out...

Meanwhile, also on Tuesday, it was announced that Alfio Basile will break with tradition by not giving a pre-match press conference in the buildup to the Uruguay match. His first comment on the current qualifiers will come in the post-match interviews. Given the pressure he's under to deliver a win at some point, he won't be looking forward to that if Argentina come up short against their oldest rivals. Manchester United's Carlos Tevez knows what's needed, though; 'We need to be more alive. If we're not good footballistically right now, more than good play we just need the points, because everyone's fighting each other at the top [of the qualifying table].' Wise words indeed.

Independiente find themselves managerless on Sunday evening after losing by a single goal to Huracán in Argentinos' stadium. Claudio Borghi, who's overseen just two wins so far in the Apertura, and three consecutive defeats after the loss today to Leandro Díaz's brilliant overhead kick, stood down from his post after the match, telling reporters; 'after the match I already knew I had to go, it was logical.'

The win for Huracán lifted them off the bottom of the table at last in front of a crowd whose noisiest contingent was the away fans chanting for Borghi's head. Ismael Sosa wasted the best chance of the first half for Independiente, but it was about the only one El Rojo managed as Huracán created more in what was, all the same, not an especially impressive performance. In the second half Díaz provided the one moment of real quality with a spectacular chilena which left Fabián Assman, in the Independiente goal, with no chance.

After three golden points for Huracán, there's more good news, because as Independiente lose their boss, El Globo are in talks to secure a new one of their own. Angel Cappa, who's currently working in Spain for sports paper Marca, has told the website of Argentina's El Gráfico that he's looking forward to taking over very soon, once the 't's have been crossed and 'i's dotted on the finer details of his contract and severance from his current position. Francisco Russo, who will be Cappa's assistant, is to start working with Huracán's current caretaker boss Héctor Martínez in the next few days, according to Cappa himself.

It was the first meeting between Vélez and San Lorenzo since the match during the Clausura which was postponed due to the death, on his way to San Lorenzo's ground, of Vélez fan Emanuel Alvarez. For that reason, and for the fact that this was third hosting first in the Apertura table, it was a highly-charged match, but was played in good spirit as San Lorenzo dominated the opening exchanges. Vélez found themselves pushed back and it was only a sterling performance from Germán Montoya between the sticks that kept things level. The 28th minute substitution due to injury of Cuervo midfielder Cristian Ledesma seemed to even the match up a little, with Vélez taking advantage of the situation with more confidence in the midfield, though they were unable to translate their newfound control of the central third into a final ball or a goal.

In the second half Vélez went in search of the opener with more adventure, a particularly good chance coming in the 64th minute when Víctor Zapata set up Hernán López, whose header didn't trouble Agustín Orión in the visiting goal. San Lorenzo managed just one chance of note in response to El Fortín's improved showing in the second period, with Néstor Silvera heading against the crossbar after a cross from Adrián González. Vélez, much better now, just didn't have the luck at the other end. They paid for it with three minutes left on the clock. Gonzalo Bergessio got loose on the right and sent over a centre which found Romeo free in the middle. The striker made no mistake. A minute later, a frustrated Víctor Zapata was sent off for Vélez after headbutting Aureliano Torres to end a vibrant match under a cloud. San Lorenzo claim the three points and are five clear of Tigre in second, who play later in the evening. Miguel Angel Russo's first semester in charge is going swimmingly so far.

River Plate 2 - 1 Defensor Sporting:

LDU Quito 1 - 1 Boca Juniors:

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Argentinos Juniors 2 - 0 San Luís de Potosí:

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Meanwhile, in Brasilia the futsal selección opened their World Cup campaign with a 5-0 demolition of China in Group C. Marcelo Giménez scored a first half hat-trick, with Martín Amas and Sebastián Corazza adding strikes of their own in the second period. With Guatemala beating Egypt 1-0, Argentina top the group on goal difference after the first match.

The other news is that on Sunday Alfio Basile named the 18 foreign-based players who will form the majority of the Argentina squad to take on Uruguay and Chile in the next round of World Cup qualifiers in a couple of weeks' time. Read on for the list.

Foreign-based players in the Argentina squad vs. Uruguay and Chile:

Goalkeepers:
Juan Pablo Carrizo (Lazio, Italy)
Sergio Romero (AZ Alkmaar, Netherlands)

Defenders:
Fabián Luciano Monzón (Real Betis, Spain)
Javier Zanetti (Internazionale, Italy)
Martín Demichelis (Bayern München, Germany)
Daniel Díaz (Getafe, Spain)
Gabriel Heinze (Real Madrid, Spain)
Fabricio Coloccini (Newcastle United, England)
Nicolás Burdisso (Internazionale)

Midfielders:
Pablo Zabaleta (Manchester City, England)
Maxi Rodríguez (Atlético de Madrid, Spain)
Javier Mascherano (Liverpool, England)
Esteban Cambiasso (Internazionale)
Angel Di María (Benfica, Portugal)

Forwards:
Lionel Messi (Barcelona, Spain)
Sergio Agüero (Atlético de Madrid)
Carlos Tevez (Manchester United, England)
Diego Milito (Genoa, Italy)

Heinze's inclusion is a surprise given his own goal and generally ham-fisted performance against Paraguay recently, whilst Tevez is in the squad because CONMEBOL ruled that his suspension for the red card he received in the same match should only be for one game, not the normal two. That only serves to justify those of us who didn't think it should have been red to start with, and means he's already served his time having sat out the Peru match.

No places for Gonzalo Higuaín, Lucho González, Lisandro López, Fernando Cavenaghi or Mauro Zárate, still. But what the hell hey Alfio, it'll all be fine with Riquelme, won't it?

The scoring began early with Leandro González evading two River players and sending a ball into the box from wide which River full back Facundo Quiroga, doing a far better job than Racing's strikers often do for themselves, met with a hashed clearance to beat his own goalkeeper and put Racing 1-0 up. River, fielding for the most part a reserve side to keep back their man men for the Copa Sudamericana during the week, struck back just nine minutes later with Salcedo's first for the club, a towering header from the Paraguayan.

Racing continued to press forward though, dominating the ball and pushing River back. Their reward came a few minutes before half time when Maxi Moralez, who otherwise had had quite a quiet half by his standards, sent a left-wing cross over for González, arriving at the far post, to head past Juan Manuel Ojeda and put Racing 2-1 up going in at the break.

Diego Simeone was clearly unhappy with his side, and within ten minutes of the restart he'd used up all his substitutes, sending on Matías Abelairas, Andrés Ríos and Diego Buonanotte, in that order, to give the Millonarios more attacking bite. He was rewarded with an equaliser from Buonanotte just eight minutes after his introduction, El Enano pouncing after goalkeeper José Luís Martínez Gullota spilled a shot into his path. Pablo Caballero put Racing back into the lead as both sides opened out and started to go for it as the rain fell down, beating Ojeda with a well-placed shot, but just three minutes later River regained parity as Facundo Quiroga redeemed himself for his earlier own goal, heading one into the correct net to make it 3-3.

There was an all-action finish which saw forward from both teams have good chances saved by the goalkeepers, before Gabriel Mercado was sent off in stoppage time for pulling back Abelairas as the latter skipped past him and into what would have been 40 yards of clear space in front of Racing's goal, just inside the Racing half. 3-3 it finished, more of an opportunity missed for Racing, but a match which was highly entertaining for all the neutrals anyway.

You could tell it wasn't the league campaign, because River Plate, having crossed the estuary the club took its name from to Montevideo, actually won a match, and it was thanks to two goals from a rather unexpected source. Sebastián Abreu's transfer back to River from Israel only went through on Wednesday, clearing him to play in this match, and in his home country, against one of his (many) former teams, El Loco used up what might - given his previous scoring record with River - prove to be half of his quota of goals for the year. Only a daft mistake to give the hosts a lifeline near the end marred the night.

Abreu opened the scoring by stabbing from close range from a corner after only eight minutes, and there followed a match in which River controlled the ball well but had to withstand pressure from Defensor, who counter-attacked with great gusto but not an awful lot of precision. Juan Manuel Ojeda looked confident in his area and marshalled the River backline well, whilst in attack River came close a number of times to doubling the lead. Diego Buonanotte had perhaps the best chance in the 40th minute, but home goalkeeper Martín Silva saved well and at the break it was just the on for River.

In the second half Defensor looked better, and but for Ojeda they might have gained parity before, in the 56th minute, Abreu pounced on a loose ball after a long shot from Matías Abelairas was spilled by Silva right into his countryman's path. River, with the lead doubled, were able to relax a little, but this being River they couldn't make things too easy for themselves. Augusto Fernández saw red in the 78th minute for a hard tackle which, in fairness to him, did take the ball well, but also a fair chunk of the man. With five minutes left, Ojeda misjudged a curved free kick from deep on the right wing, and got nowhere near the ball, allowing Mario Risso to get a consolation on the goal line which might prove vital come the second leg, next Thursday.

Copa Sudamericana last sixteen: Defensor Sporting 2 - 1 River Plate:

It was League Cup day in England and Scotland, but halfway across the world, Boca Juniors also fielded a side largely made up of youngsters in a second-rate knockout competition. In this case it was the Copa Sudamericana, and the opposition were the champions of South America - recent Copa Libertadores winners Liga de Quito. Even with their legendary obsession with gathering even the most meaningless of international trophies, Carlos Ischia had good reason to rest his starters, though: they're back in league action on Thursday, less than two days after tonight's match. His reserves repaid his faith in them, winning 4-0. Read on to see the goals.

Boca's midfield had enough experience to see the side through, consisting of Álvaro González, Neri Cardozo, Christian Chávez and Leandro Gracián, but it was the younger players who took centre stage. One of the young defenders, Juan Forlín, got things going in the 27th minute with a header from a Gracián centre that Liga goalkeeper José Cevallos could probably have done a bit better with. Five minutes later Boca's second arrived courtesy of a huge mix-up in the Liga backline. Cevallos came out to close down a ball that Jonathan Philippe had scuffed towards goal, but the ball bounced loose and cannoned into the net off Liga defender Gabriel Espinoza.

Thus buoyed at half time, Boca didn't let up after the break. Pablo Mouche, who'd already gone close, made it 3-0, running onto a high ball over the backline to finish comfortably from the edge of the six yard box. After that Boca continued to keep the pressure on, easily repelling a Liga side who, despite not having been in the worst of form at home in the Ecuadorean league, looked a pale imitation of the side that claimed the Libertadores crown back in June. Eight minutes remained when substitute Nicolás Gaitán rounded the night off in style, finishing off a fine passing move to make it 4-0. The second leg will be next Wednesday in Quito, and Boca's second string have put themselves in a great position to reach the quarter-finals.

Boca Juniors 4 - 0 Liga Deportiva Universitaria de Quito, Copa Sudamericana last 16 first leg:

A video of goals from the Estudiantes de La Plata vs. Arsenal de Sarandí match will be posted on Wednesday evening.

The two teams alluded to in the headline, you see, are San Martín and Tigre. In La Bombonera the second half didn't see any goal action, but the first was a five goal thriller, but Tigre raced into a two goal lead thanks to Carlos Luna and Martín Morel with a superb free kick inside twelve minutes, only to be pegged back level by Boca as first Sebastián Battaglia put the hosts back into it, then Jonathan Blanco hit an own goal six minutes later. Parity only lasted four minutes, though, Morel grabbing his second to put Tigre 3-2 up in the 32nd minute.

In the second half, Battaglia having been sent off before half time for Sebastián Rusculleda, Tigre had a man advantage to go with the goal, and held Boca out in a much slower-paced encounter than the frantic first period. At full time, the player embraced to celebrate an historic win. In last year's Apertura, a Tigre win over Boca in the Monumental de Victoria in the penultimate round ended Boca's hopes of the title. This time round, a loss to Tigre in front of their own fans has left Boca needing more than ever those three points on offer from the match in hand over Newell's.

River, a little later, were hardly in a better mood. Needing a win, things seemed perfect; an away match against a newly promoted side, against whom they'd never lost as visitors. Diego Simeone's men, though, showed that they intend to concentrate instead on the Copa Sudamericana in the current semester. At least, presumably that's what happened, because after taking an early lead through young defender Omar Merlo, River seemed to slip into cruise control, and were punished for their complacency in the second half.

San Martín drew level before the break through Gustavo Ibáñez, but it was in the final quarter-of-an-hour, as substitutes Daniel Vega, in the 77th minute, and Enzo Bruno in the 87th struck, that the match was decided and the home fans went wild. How long Simeone will last with a team who are still clearly struggling to play as he wants them to and have won just once so far this season remains to be seen. Tigre and San Martín, though, are three and four points, respectively, behind leaders San Lorenzo.

The sixth match of the Apertura was the date preordained by River Plate manager Diego Simeone as the day his first-choice side would finally come to life. Oh dear oh dear. River lost at home to Vélez on Wednesday and, one third of the way through the campaign, surely can't afford any more slip-ups if they're going to (somehow) succeed in defending their title. Another side in need of a win had better luck, Central dismantling Arsenal in Rosario, and Boca's drab draw with Argentinos in La Paternal means San Lorenzo, who won on Tuesday, remain top on points. Special mention to Independiente forward Leonel Núñez; he got a hat-trick against Gimnasia de Jujuy. The midweek round saw a managerial casualty, as well: Roberto Sensini quit Estudiantes, announcing that 'things aren't working', following his side's draw against San Martín. For all the details, step this way...

Primera División A Torneo Apertura 2008, sixth round:
Colón de Santa Fe (E. Fuertes 35; R. Ramírez 54; L. Valdemarín 88) 3 - 3 Lanús (M. Fritzler 19; J. Sand 64; S. Blanco 87)
Tigre (M. Morel 66, 74; J. Blanco 68) 3 - 1 Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata (J. San Román OG 5)
Banfield (N. Bertolo 52) 1 - 3 San Lorenzo de Almagro (N. Silvera 22; P. Barrientos 41; S. Solari 89)
Huracán (C. González 46) 1 - 1 Newell's Old Boys (R. Schiavi 30)
Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba (V. Figueroa 89) 1 - 0 Racing Club
Estudiantes de La Plata (M. Boselli 44) 1 - 1 San Martín de Tucumán (R. Leone 87)
River Plate (A. Ríos 72) 1 - 2 Vélez Sársfield (J. Cristaldo 37; H. López 81)
Rosario Central (E. Zelaya 10; D. Braghieri 46; O. Zarif 86) 3 - 0 Arsenal Fútbol Club
Independiente (L. Núñez 4, 41, 54) 3 - 2 Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy (C. Fileppi 49; R. Gómez 86; D. Ramasco OFF 73)
Argentinos Juniors 0 - 0 Boca Juniors

For the goals from this round, check back on Thursday evening.

There was no doubt as to the hot issue of the day in the Argentine press on Monday. The Boca Juniors vs. Independiente clásico in La Bombonera saw two red cards for the visitors during a second half which referee Pablo Lunati seemed to be losing control of at one point. Guillermo Rodríguez grabbed a linesman by the throat and Daniel Montenegro, who should have walked for a horrendous tackle, was only booked, before being given a second yellow card for re-entering the field of play without the ref's permission. Huracán must be glad of it all - it's overshadowed their bad news, as they start the week looking for a new manager after Claudio Ubeda left the club on Friday.

After two goals in rapid succession at the start of the second half in La Boca, one for each side, the controversy began. First, in the 73rd minute, Daniel Montenegro made an eye-watering tackle on Gabriel Paletta which was as straight a red card as anyone could see, but Lunati only booked him. Two minutes later, both players took to the pitch again but the referee, who'd forgotten to call them back on, gave each player a yellow card for re-entering the field of play without permission. In Rolfi's case, of course, it was his second booking, and thus he got the red card he should have been issued with two minutes previously.

There followed, only slightly later, a rocket of a shot from Independiente forward Leonel Núñez which cannoned down off the crossbar and looked to most like it had gone over the goal line. Neither Lunati nor his linesman Diego Romero gave the goal, and what happened next was a real eye-opener. Independiente defender Guillermo Rodríguez approached Romero, making gestures to indicate that the linesman was taking money from Boca to give the call against their opponents. When he reached the official, Rodríguez grabbed Romero by the throat. The Uruguayan has since apologised, but his sending off was perhaps the only non-controversial refereeing decision that was taken on Sunday. Even Boca playmaker Juan Román Riquelme, whose side benefitted from all the calls, claimed after the match that the referee had looked 'nervous', in spite of Lunati's own protestations on Monday to Radio La Red that the only mistake he'd made had been to give Montenegro only a yellow card for his challenge on Paletta.

Huracán, meanwhile, will be playing at least one match with a caretaker boss. The sixth round of the Apertura is played in midweek on Tuesday and Wednesday evenings to catch the fixture list up after last weekend's international break, and Claudio Ubeda, who was playing for the club a year ago, has left his first managerial post following the amazing 4-3 defeat to Gimnasia de Jujuy. After finally seeing his side attack as last season showed they were so capable of doing, he could do little to plug a defence that's getting worse and worse, and now has the team at the bottom of the Primera A table. Huracán's shortlist to replace him includes names such as Angel Cappa, Enzo Trossero, Julio César Falcioni and Gustavo Alfaro.

It's been an interesting weekend in Primera A, with Gimnasia de Jujuy and Huracán giving us a seven goal thriller to kick it off, Racing making it three matches unbeaten, the two promotees sharing the spoils in Tucumán, and River stumbling again. There was also a draw in a very heated clásico between Boca and Independiente in La Bombonera. All the scores and scorers are right here, as always...

Primera División A Torneo Apertura 2008, fifth round:
Gimnasia y Esgrima de Jujuy (F. Acuña 5; C. Carranza 52; J. Luna 75; F. Pieters 82) 4 - 3 Huracán (L. Díaz 23; C. González 62; D. Herner 68)
Banfield 0 - 0 Colón de Santa Fe
Newell's Old Boys (E. Cristaldo 48; D. Torres 77; J.L. Quiroga OFF 45) 2 - 1 Lanús (S. Blanco 30)
Gimnasia y Esgrima La Plata (I. Piatti 4; R. Maldonado OFF 53) 1 - 1 Argentinos Juniors (N. Pavlovich 49; N. Gorosito (manager) OFF 45; G. Hauche OFF 53)
San Lorenzo de Almagro (A. González 39, 51) 2 - 1 Rosario Central (A. Danelón 11)
Racing Club (G. Mercado OFF 61) 0 - 0 Tigre (D. Castaño OFF 56)
San Martín de Tucumán (D. Vega 71) 1 - 1 Godoy Cruz Antonio Tomba (L. Caruso 88)
Vélez Sársfield (L. Velázquez 90) 1 - 0 Estudiantes de La Plata
Boca Juniors (R. Palacio 46) 1 - 1 Independiente (D. Gandín 49; D. Montenegro OFF 75; G. Rodríguez OFF 87)
Arsenal Fútbol Club (C. Castiglione 38; J. Yacuzzi 61; C. Pellerano OFF 84) 2 - 2 River Plate (C. Villagra 19; R. Falcao García 71)

As usual, for the goals on video, check back on Monday night. The league table will also be updated later on Monday.

Peru 1 - 1 Argentina, World Cup 2010 qualifying

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Cambiasso's strike, the culmination of a brilliant team move that had begun with Juan Román Riquelme, was one of very few bright points in the match for Argentina. Germán Denis missed a good chance before, still in the first half, the match swung on the injury sustained by Newcastle United midfielder Jonás Gutiérrez. That obliged Alfio Basile to make some tweaks to the midfield at half time, but the side he sent out for the second period, against a team like Peru - who without seeking to offend anyone, don't have the same individual quality that Argentina possess - was frankly baffling.

As well as Gutiérrez, Angel Di María had also been withdrawn and thus there was a midfield three of Sebastián Battaglia, Fernando Gago and Esteban Cambiasso behind Riquelme in the playmaker's role. Good players, for sure, but a little more defensively minded than was perhaps apt to keep Peru on the back foot, and the lack of width in the second half was notable. Sergio Agüero replaced Denis, but Peru moved to a three-man frontline with Juan Manuel Vargas and Argentina were kept firmly on the back foot.

With three men on or around Riquelme, things were complicated further for Argentina. Peru manager José Guillermo Del Solar theorised that if Riquelme couldn't relax on the ball, and get it to Messi, then Argentina, playing as they have done lately, were a far less dangerous prospect. He was proved correct, and Peru pressed forward. Juan Pablo Carrizo kept them at bay for as long as he could, but in the end the pressure proved too much. Argentina have a break now, but in the space of a few short months and a couple of matches, they've gone from top of the world rankings and joint favourites with Spain for South Africa 2010, to being rather concerned about whether they'll actually be playing there.

To see the goals, check back later.

Tevez told TyCSports on Monday that he'd apologised to Basile for the red card which reduced Argentina to ten men before half time on Saturday. 'I can't find any explanation for what I did, but I can't do that again,' Tevez told the cameras. The foul itself was a nasty mistake but many onlookers felt a straight red card was a harsh punishment. Carlitos, though, wasn't trying to hide away from the blame. 'I felt like it was my match, and I felt the confidence of the manager. Afterwards, when we talked, I told him I'd felt it, and that I was sorry.' There are those who've suggested Tevez could be running out of starting chances for Argentina, having not scored as many as he probably should for the national side - who themselves have now not won in six senior matches - with other strikers knocking on the door. How confident Basile feels in him after the Peru game, we shall have to see.

With Tevez feeling he'd let the side down to some extent, then, the national setup is also having pressure exerted on it from without. Angel Torres, the president of Spanish club Getafe, has pronounced himself and the club 'indignant' after Abbondanzieri's injury now means that the Argentine national side have deprived his club of their two main goalkeepers in a little less than a month - Oscar Ustari having been injured during the Olympic Football Tournament.

'Someone's got to sort this out,' Torres told Argentina's Radio La Red. 'The methods [of doing said sorting out] have to be examined and I hope that the AFA have an insurance policy [for the players] because the situation for us is really serious. We're going to look at whether we have a case to sue the AFA.' In a moment of romanticism that lovers of the international game probably can't quite believe from a club president in this situation, though, Torres clarified that he wouldn't prevent his players from accepting future call-ups if their countries called upon them. His annoyance, though, stems not so much from the injuries to his two goalkeepers - although that's undeniably a sore point - as from the fact that none of the AFA's technical or medical team contacted Getafe to inform them of the situation. 'If we want a medical opinion, it has to be from our own medic rather than theirs.'

It was second versus first in the Estadio Monumental on Saturday afternoon, as Argentina hosted leaders Paraguay in the South American qualifiers for the 2010 World Cup. The selección didn't look particularly hot in front of their own fans, falling a goal down early on after dominating the opening exchanges before going a man down when Carlos Tevez got yet another sending off just before half time. In the second half though, they improved, and the combination of two Olympic gold medalists secured a point just before the hour.

Argentina started as far and away the better side, creating several good chances in the opening minutes even before Juan Román Riquelme smashed a thirty-five yard free kick against the crossbar in the seventh minute. Riquelme was struggling to forge the same understanding with Lionel Messi, as he had during the Olympic Games, but Carlos Tevez and Angel Di María were keeping the Paraguayan defence busy out on the flanks. In the twelfth minute, though, disaster struck. A long ball forward and pressure from the visiting forwards led to Gabriel Heinze heading the ball over Roberto Abbondanzieri and into his own goal. Worse still, he managed to clatter the Getafe goalkeeper in the process, and Abbondanzieri, clutching his knee in agony, had to be replaced by Juan Pablo Carrizo, who probably didn't expect to be taking the pitch in the Monumental again quite so soon after leaving River Plate.

Paraguay, with numerous players who have either played or currently do play in the Argentine league (Justo Villar, Claudio Morel Rodríguez, Oscar Cardozo et al), didn't seem at all intimidated by the Monumental, and were seeking to record a first away win over Argentina in 35 years. Their cause was strengthened as they gained in confidence after the goal went their way, and appeared stronger still when, shortly before the break, Carlos Tevez was handed his second red card in three matches for Argentina. The decision was a little harsh - he'd accidentally stamped an opposing defender whilst trying to keep control of the ball near the touchline - but was another blow for the hosts as they sought the equaliser.

At the break, only Javier Mascherano - digging as deep as ever for his country in the stadium he used to play his club football in for River Plate - Lionel Messi and, to some extent, Javier Zanetti merited any real optimism for the hosts. Alfio Basile, seeing the need to replace Tevez in the attack, sacrified Di María, who'd been called up following some impressive performances during the Olympic Football Tournament. Sergio Agüero came on for the Benfica midfielder, and it was he who provided the hosts with their escape in the 59th minute.

Agüero helped exercise more pressure on the Paraguayan defence than had been applied since the goal, and when Riquelme gave Messi the ball just inside the final third, shortly before the hour, another Olympic combination was in the offing. Messi turned, beat his man - as he had so many times already - and played yet another perfect through ball into the left side channel for Agüero to run onto and slide past Villar in the visitors' goal, to make it 1-1.

The match continued with Argentina exerting the greater pressure and Paraguay operating on the counter. The final half hour was highly entertaining but neither side too many really clear chances, or especially bad misses. At the finish, Argentina remained second in the South American qualification table. Despite the comfortable position, though, not to mention a second consecutive Olympic gold for the juniors (+ two), the fact remains that it's now a good while since Argentina's senior squad have truly impressed. Alfio Basile, according to the home press, has four days to sort things out in time for the match away to Peru on Wednesday. In truth, though, perhaps the selección are finally getting the hang of not peaking during qualifying...?

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Méndez was among Falcao's critics after San Lorenzo dumped River out of the Copa Libertadores with a spectacular nine-man comeback from two goals down in the Monumental earlier this year. The Colombian striker hadn't been shy about telling the world how lucky he felt San Lorenzo had been, and was accused by many of the squad of sour grapes. His compatriot Méndez reiterated the criticism when asked about his sending-off on Sunday, after which he'd appeared to attempt to dismantle part of the tunnel back to the dressing room, and said that Falcao had had it coming for his previous 'sour grapes' attitude. A number of River's players, most vocally Matías Abelairas, pointed out that if there were any sour grapes here, it was probably Méndez who was chewing on them.

On Wednesday though, with the cussing out of the way until the teams next meet, it was back to business on the training pitch in earnest, as Simeone sought to examine the reasons for his side's poor showing so far this season. The names, by and large, are the same as those which won the Clausura a few months ago, but River today are playing with less conviction and less aggresively. They've missed players like Juan Pablo Carrizo and Ariel Ortega, of course, whilst Diego Buonanotte is only just being reintegrated after his successful time in China winning Olympic gold, but for defending champions there can be no excuses.

Simeone begun the season by setting to one side the 4-2-3-1 which formed the basis of the title triumph in June - and switching to a 3-4-1-2 which will allow him to use Falcao alongside new arrival Santiago Salcedo up front, but which necessitates everyone in the team adjusting to a new shape. Buonanotte's return complicates things a little because, as top scorer and the side's best player during the Clausura, if anyone merits having the side built around him, it's el Enano. Simeone also wants to seek a way to get the best out of the multi-functional Leonardo Ponzio, who was signed as a midfielder but has playing at the back so far this season as if he's been there his whole career, and is to be given a remit to start moving forward out of defence like an old-style libero.

Two weeks ago, Simeone - who admitted after the title win that he wanted the side to keep evolving towards a style he had in mind - told River's fans that 'in the sixth round [of the Apertura] you'll see the true team.' With the World Cup qualifiers this weekend, that means midweek in two weeks' time, when the opposition will be Vélez - hardly a pushover of a match to predict your team coming good in. Simeone has proved himself a pretty handy manager so far in his career - will his latest plan stand up to scrutiny?

Resign now

- avoid the rush