Rangers and Ecuador midfielder Jose Cifuentes is set to come up against the legendary might of Lionel Messi and Argentina as the World Cup qualifiers get underway.
The 24-year-old Ecuadorean international has been called up to his national side’s squad as the competitive South American qualifiers kick off during the international break.
And first up for Ecuador and Jose Cifuentes is a stiff test against World Champions Argentina in Buenos Aires with Lionel Messi lying in wait for the Rangers hero.
The clash will kick off at 1am GMT on Friday 8th September and it promises to be a competitive test as both sides look to qualify for the tournament in the USA, Mexico and Canada.
Jose Cifuentes and Ecuador to face Lionel Messi and Argentina
Jose Cifuentes was part of the Ecuador squad who competed at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, the midfielder coming off the bench in clashes with the hosts and Senegal.
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With the South American nation also playing the Netherlands at the tournament, Ecuador and Jose Cifuentes failed to get out of a competitive group.
Conversely, Argentina and Lionel Messi bounced back from a devastating opening day loss to Saudi Arabia to go on and win the tournament in the Middle East.
Lionel Messi was in inspired form to guide Argentina to the World Cup trophy for the third time and potentially cement himself as the G.O.A.T.
Argentina promise to be a stiff test for Jose Cifuentes and Ecuador and Rangers fans might be interested to see how the former LAFC midfielder does on international duty.
It’s been a mixed start to Cifuentes’ Rangers career with the midfielder initially impressing but then looking a little shell-shocked as the club’s season threatened to fall apart this week.
Given the run around in Eindhoven, the midfielder wasn’t trusted against Celtic and he’ll need to drastically improve alongside his teammates if he’s to convince a frustrated Ibrox support.
Starting his career in Ecuador with Universidad Católica and America de Quito, now 16-times capped Jose Cifuentes moved to LAFC in 2020 spent just under three years in California.
Rangers reportedly held off Premier League competition to sign the midfielder, who initially signed a pre-contract before moving on a cut-price fee this summer.
Jose Cifuentes could also be set to start alongside a British record-holder with Ecuador after one of the summer’s biggest transfer sagas reached its conclusion.