Buenos Aires (EFE).- Argentine defender Nicolás Otamendi and Ecuadorian midfielder Moisés Caicedo will be able to play in the debut of their respective national teams in the 2026 World Cup, after a regulatory change by FIFA, which decided this Friday to nullify the fulfillment during the World Cup of suspensions for expulsions during the past qualifiers.
According to a FIFA resolution replicated by the Argentine Football Association (AFA) “yellow cards will not be carried over to the final phase, nor will suspensions of one or two matches resulting from warnings in different matches of the preliminary phase, red cards for double warnings or direct red cards”.
The text specified that this decision will only apply in cases where expulsions have occurred “for having prevented a goal or a clear goal-scoring opportunity for the opposing team, or for a foul of extreme severity”.
Fotografía de archivo que muestra al árbitro Wilmar Roldán sancionar al jugador Moisés Caicedo (i), de Ecuador, durante un partido por las eliminatorias a la Copa Mundial 2026. EFE/ José Jácome
This regulatory change was approved by the FIFA Council Bureau and still needs to be ratified by the FIFA Council at its next session.
Argentina and Ecuador Recover Stars to Debut in the World Cup
This measure comes shortly after the AFA requested FIFA for an amnesty for Otamendi, who, like Caicedo, was sent off during the match between Argentina and Ecuador on September 9 in Guayaquil for the last matchday of the South American qualifiers, which culminated in a 1-0 victory for the home team.
Otamendi, a player for Portuguese Benfica, received a straight red card for preventing a clear goal-scoring opportunity and Caicedo, who plays for English Chelsea, for two yellow cards.
Argentina is in Group J of the World Cup along with Algeria, Austria, and Jordan, and will debut on June 16 against the African team, a match for which another defender of the ‘Albiceleste’, Cristian ‘Cuti’ Romero, is in doubt, who is recovering from an injury suffered last April and would arrive just in time.
Ecuador, for its part, is in Group E along with Germany, Ivory Coast and Curacao, and its debut will be on June 14 against the Ivorians.
According to a FIFA resolution replicated by the Argentine Football Association (AFA) “yellow cards will not be carried over to the final phase, nor will suspensions of one or two matches resulting from warnings in different matches of the preliminary phase, red cards for double warnings or direct red cards”.
The text specified that this decision will only apply in cases where expulsions have occurred “for having prevented a goal or a clear goal-scoring opportunity for the opposing team, or for a foul of extreme severity”.
