Argentina is dazzling again, but true test is up ahead

With the likes of (from left) Lionel Messi, Juan Román Riquelme and Carlos Tévez on its roster, Argentina has an abundance of talent. AP

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With dizzying talent at its disposal, most in the soccer world figured Argentina would have no trouble waltzing through South America's World Cup qualifying, which got underway just over a month ago. A spot at South Africa 2010 seemed to be a foregone conclusion.

So far, there's been little reason to worry, as Alfio Basile's side has proven it is a level above the rest and more than capable of playing exciting, attacking soccer. With the likes of Lionel Messi, Juan Román Riquelme and Carlos Tévez on its roster, Argentina is in a league of its own when it comes to creativity of the highest order.

That inventiveness was on display in a 3-0 victory over Bolivia in Buenos Aires on Saturday, during which Messi took center stage. The gifted 20-year-old demonstrated why he is considered one of the top two players in the world with an impressive display.

What particularly caught my eye was the manner in which he almost ran through the entire Bolivian defense time and again during the match. He capped off a man-of-the-match performance by assisting Riquelme on Argentina's third goal with another of his trademark runs.

But until now, things have been much too easy for Argentina; it has won all three of its qualifiers, having scored seven goals, while conceding none. While most of its other South American rivals, including Brazil, have struggled, each one of Argentina's victories has been a walk in the park.

Let's be realistic. Despite Argentina's good form, it has yet to be tested. Its three rivals, Chile, Venezuela and Bolivia, came into the qualifiers after extremely poor campaigns in the Copa América, and none of these teams was able to give it a serious test.

But this won't be the case again on Tuesday night when Argentina meets Colombia at El Campín de Bogotá. Basile's side won't only be up against the high altitude (8,660 feet), the intense climate and an intimidating 42,000-capacity crowd, but will confront an in-form Colombian outfit that has yet to taste defeat in qualifying.

Colombia, which thrashed Argentina 5-0 in a World Cup qualifier in Buenos Aires in 1993, has demonstrated its fighting spirit in all three of its matches so far. It held Brazil to a scoreless draw in its opening qualifier last month, picked up a vital point against Bolivia in La Paz and, on Saturday, edged Venezuela 1-0 in a tight contest.

Colombia manager Jorge Luis Pinto has assembled a very solid side which constantly pressures its opponents throughout the 90 minutes. It almost completely dominated Venezuela in its last match, but despite needing a late Rubén Darío Bustos free kick to win the three points, it proved it's very dangerous on offense.

"We will play our match against Argentina with other concepts, we will attack like we did against Brazil, Bolivia and Venezuela," Pinto stated to the local press. "We have to be very offensive."

The fact that Argentina will finally be put under heavy pressure in the qualifiers means that it has to function properly as a defensive unit in order to escape from Bogotá with at least a point. Much of Argentina's World Cup qualifying fate depends on this match, because its campaign can only get more difficult from here on out.

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