Overview

• FIFA confirmed a one‑match suspension for Nicolás Otamendi stemming from his red card against Ecuador for denying an obvious goal‑scoring opportunity.
• The ruling means the defender will miss Argentina’s first match of the 2026 World Cup, with the opponent to be determined at the December 5 draw.
• FIFA cited Article 10, which carries red‑card bans from the preliminary phase into the finals but does not carry over yellow‑card accumulations.
• Argentina’s federation (AFA) was also fined 5,000 Swiss francs in connection with the incident.
• Ecuador’s Moisés Caicedo received the same one‑match suspension after his sending‑off in the same qualifier.