Argentina confronted a troublesome take a look at in opposition to Colombia on Matchday 16 of the 2026 CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers. After Luis Díaz gave the guests the lead with an excellent solo objective, issues went from dangerous to worse for La Albiceleste when Enzo Fernández was proven a pink card for a harmful problem on Kevin Castaño.
Within the seventieth minute, Fernández tried to play a bouncing ball together with his proper foot however as an alternative caught Castaño within the head together with his boot. The Colombian midfielder went down in seen ache, and after a quick pause, referee Juan Gabriel Benítez issued a straight pink card to the Argentine midfielder.
Regardless of being all the way down to 10 males and trailing on the scoreboard, Argentina managed to claw their method again. With Lionel Messi already off the pitch, Argentina took a fast throw-in, and Thiago Almada unleashed a thunderous strike from the sting of the field to stage the match within the 81st minute.
Purple playing cards: A uncommon sight in Scaloni’s period
Beneath supervisor Lionel Scaloni, Argentina has change into identified not only for technical brilliance, but additionally for self-discipline and bodily stability—a trademark of the group’s latest success. That management has made pink playing cards a uncommon prevalence throughout his tenure.
The primary pink card of the Scaloni period got here in stunning trend, when Lionel Messi was despatched off in a heated alternate with Gary Medel through the third-place match of the 2019 Copa América. The decision was controversial, and the ejection marked a uncommon second of pressure for the Argentine captain.
It could be years earlier than Argentina noticed pink once more. In March 2025, Nicolás González was despatched off late in a qualifier in opposition to Uruguay after an unintentional excessive boot to Nahitan Nández in stoppage time. Now, with Fernández’s dismissal, this marks simply the third pink card beneath Scaloni’s management.
*Growing story…
