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Worrying Statistic Reveals Argentina's Reliance on One Man Could Cost Them World Cup Spot

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With just six wins from 17 qualifying games, Argentina's dreams of securing a place in next summer's World Cup are fading fast as they cannot seem to find the back of the net - despite a plethora of attacking prowess which any nation would be jealous of. 

With just 16 goals to their name throughout their qualifying campaign, The Independent's Miguel Delaney has flagged up an alarming statistic on Twitter which points out La Albiceleste have had an astonishing 73 shots since their last goal in qualifying, and no one other than Lionel Messi has scored in almost a year. 

The reality of Argentina's stuttering attack is that their only goal in their last four games came from an own-goal, and the last goal that was scored from the boot of an Argentinian came from the captain Messi - from the penalty spot. 

As such the misfiring attack's reliance on Messi means you have to trace back to November 2016 in their 3-0 victory against Colombia to find a player other than the Barcelona superstar to have scored a goal in qualifying. 

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Since that night in November, Jorge Sampaoli's side have since secured one lonely victory - which came against Chile in March - as their inability to score has plunged La Albiceleste to sixth in the qualifying table following a bout of draws. 

With goals proving hard to come by, the chances of Argentina qualifying for next year's tournament are looking increasingly bleak as there are a number of scenarios which could mean La Albiceleste are reliant on other results to reach Russia next year. 

To keep it simple, Argentina must beat Ecuador on Wednesday to ensure a meeting with New Zealand in the play-offs, and if they do and Brazil avoid defeat against Chile they will progress automatically. Otherwise, they will be relying on others to keep their dream alive.