Monumental. Not just the sort of day it would be were Argentina to fail to reach the World Cup, but also the name of the stadium where the Albiceleste most often play, the home of River Plate and the venue of the most apocalyptic moment in the country’s recent football history.

When River, the country’s most decorated club, were relegated to the second tier in 2011 there were riots in the streets that extended far beyond Nuñez, the well-heeled neighbourhood in the north of Argentina’s capital, Buenos Aires, that is home to Los Millonarios.

Disorder and destruction descended on the entire city and beyond, with incidents reported as far south as Santa Cruz in Patagonia and as far north as Salta, on the Bolivian border. But for all River’s support, the chaos should Argentina miss out on World Cup 2018 would be altogether far more anarchic. If they’re losing in injury time, board up your windows.

Now, for that to happen on Tuesday night it would require Ecuador to win for the first time in six World Cup qualifiers. But this is a game played in the altitude of Quito, at the Estadio Atahualpa where Ecuador won seven of eight qualifiers en route to World Cup 2014. This qualifying campaign hasn’t been the same for them and they’re already on their third coach since Reinaldo Rueda, the brilliant Colombian who took them to Brazil and resigned following that World Cup exit. Ecuador beat Chile here, and that performance will be their blueprint for trying to derail Argentina, rather than the subsequent limp defeats.

Jorge Sampaoli knows Ecuador. When he was a jobbing coach, finding his way in the game, he spent years taking jobs around South America and that included a spell in Guayaquil with Emelec. Traditionally the club of Ecuador’s electricity provider, Sampaoli provided Emelec with some spark and led them to finish top of the league before being poached by Universidad de Chile - the job that truly launched his career as we know it now.

His brief but successful time in Ecuador means he is seen somewhat more positively there than he is in Argentina right now. Replacing the hapless Edgardo Bauza, Sampaoli appeared to be onto a surefire winner after boosting his reputation in Europe from an impressive season with Sevilla before going home to the one job he’d always wanted. But four qualifiers now with no victories have Argentina on the precipice and defeat is unthinkable.

With that in mind, there is some concern over Sampaoli’s selection for the upcoming game given his bizarre XI in the last one. Yes, he is a system coach who selects players that he thinks are most suited to his formation and yes, Paulo Dybala had said it’s difficult to play with Lionel Messi.

But if you are playing Dario Benedetto ahead of a potential Ballon d’Or winner then you are doing it wrong. There are no exceptions.

Angel Di Maria is a doubt, which deprives Argentina of some of their energy and creativity, but the hope is that there is just too much quality in this team for them to lose in Quito and completely miss out.

Even a draw should get Argentina a play-off spot at worst and while the travel to New Zealand would be considerable, rational thought tells us that a month to prepare should be enough to knock off the All Whites over two legs.

And yet the nerves are so great and the pressure so immense that it doesn't feel like a time where rational thought can triumph. Argentina is nervous and it is anxious, not just for missing a World Cup - which would be unthinkable - but because of its greater significance.

2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Show all 31 1 /31 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees BARCELONA, SPAIN - JANUARY 17: Lionel Messi of FC Barcelona holds up the FIFA Ballon d'Or trophy prior to the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Athletic Club de Bilbao at Camp Nou on January 17, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) Getty Images 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain) Paris Saint-Germain's Brazilian forward Neymar looks on during the French Ligue 1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Toulouse FC (TFC) at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on August 20, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / BERTRAND GUAY (Photo credit should read BERTRAND GUAY/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Luka Modric (Real Madrid) LA CORUNA, SPAIN - AUGUST 20: Luka Modric of Real Madrid in action during the La Liga match between Deportivo La Coruna and Real Madrid at Riazor Stadium on August 20, 2017 in La Coruna, Spain. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images) Getty Images 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Marcelo (Real Madrid) BARCELONA, SPAIN - AUGUST 13: Marcelo of Real Madrid looks on during a warm up prior to the Supercopa de Espana Supercopa Final 1st Leg match between FC Barcelona and Real Madrid at Camp Nou on August 13, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by Manuel Queimadelos Alonso/Getty Images,) Getty Images, 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Paulo Dybala (Juventus) TURIN, ITALY - MAY 21: Paulo Dybala of Juventus FC celebrates after beating FC Crotone 3-0 to win the Serie A Championships at the end of the Serie A match between Juventus FC and FC Crotone at Juventus Stadium on May 21, 2017 in Turin, Italy. (Photo by Valerio Pennicino/Getty Images) Getty Images 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees N'Golo Kante (Chelsea) LONDON, ENGLAND - MAY 21: N'Golo Kante of Chelsea poses with the Premier League Trophy after the Premier League match between Chelsea and Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on May 21, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images) Getty Images 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Luis Suarez (Barcelona) BARCELONA, SPAIN - JANUARY 17: Luis Suarez of FC Barcelona celebrates after scoring his team's sixth goal during the La Liga match between FC Barcelona and Athletic Club de Bilbao at Camp Nou on January 17, 2016 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) Getty 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Sergio Ramos (Real Madrid) CARDIFF, WALES - JUNE 03: Sergio Ramos of Real Madrid celebrates with The Champions League trophy after the UEFA Champions League Final between Juventus and Real Madrid at National Stadium of Wales on June 3, 2017 in Cardiff, Wales. (Photo by Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images) Getty 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Jan Oblak (Atletico Madrid) Atletico Madrid's Slovenian goalkeeper Jan Oblak looks on as he warms up before the UEFA Champions League Group C football match Club Atletico de Madrid vs Chelsea FC at the Metropolitan stadium in Madrid on September 27, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / JAVIER SORIANO (Photo credit should read JAVIER SORIANO/AFP/Getty Images) Getty 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Philippe Coutinho (Liverpool) Getty 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Dries Mertens (Napoli) Napoli's forward from Belgium Dries Mertens greets fans at the end of the UEFA Champion's League Group F football match Napoli vs Feyenoord Rotterdam on September 26, 2017 at the San Paolo stadium in Naples. Napoli won 3-1. / AFP PHOTO / Filippo MONTEFORTE (Photo credit should read FILIPPO MONTEFORTE/AFP/Getty Images) Getty 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Kevin de Bruyne (Manchester City) LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 30: Kevin De Bruyne of Manchester City looks on during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Manchester City at Stamford Bridge on September 30, 2017 in London, England. (Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images) Getty 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Robert Lewandowski (Bayern Munich) BREMEN, GERMANY - AUGUST 26: Robert Lewandowski of Bayern Muenchen celebrates having scored his teams second goal to make it 2:0 during the Bundesliga match between SV Werder Bremen and FC Bayern Muenchen at Weserstadion on August 26, 2017 in Bremen, Germany. (Photo by Martin Rose/Bongarts/Getty Images) Getty 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees David de Gea (Manchester United) Manchester United's Spanish goalkeeper David de Gea applauds the fans following the UEFA Champions League Group A football match between Manchester United and Basel at Old Trafford in Manchester, north west England on September 12, 2017. Manchester United won 3-0. / AFP PHOTO / Oli SCARFF (Photo credit should read OLI SCARFF/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Harry Kane (Tottenham Hotspur) Tottenham Hotspur's English striker Harry Kane celebrates after scoring their second goal during the UEFA Champions League Group H football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Borussia Dortmund at Wembley Stadium in London, on September 13, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / IKIMAGES / Ian KINGTON (Photo credit should read IAN KINGTON/AFP/Getty Images) Getty 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Edin Dzeko (Roma) BENEVENTO, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 20: Edin Dzeko of Roma celebrates after scoring the opening goal during the Serie A match between Benevento Calcio and AS Roma at Stadio Ciro Vigorito on September 20, 2017 in Benevento, Italy. (Photo by Maurizio Lagana/Getty Images) Getty 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Antoine Griezmann (Atletico Madrid) Atletico Madrids French striker Antoine Griezmann gestures during the first Audi Cup football match between Atletico Madrid and SSC Napoli in the stadium in Munich, southern Germany, on August 1, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / Christof STACHE (Photo credit should read CHRISTOF STACHE/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Toni Kroos (Real Madrid) Kroos is one of three Real Madrid players in the Top 10. AFP/Getty Images 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Gianluigi Buffon (Juventus) BARCELONA, SPAIN - SEPTEMBER 12: Gianluigi Buffon of Juventus looks on during the UEFA Champions League Group D match between FC Barcelona and Juventus at Camp Nou on September 12, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) Getty Images 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Sadio Mane (Liverpool) Sadio Mane will prove more important to Liverpool than Philippe Coutinho, says Jamie Carragher Getty 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Radamel Falcao (Monaco) Getty 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Lionel Messi (Barcelona) BARCELONA, SPAIN - SEPTEMBER 12: Lionel Messi of Barcelona looks on during the UEFA Champions League Group D match between FC Barcelona and Juventus at Camp Nou on September 12, 2017 in Barcelona, Spain. (Photo by David Ramos/Getty Images) Getty Images 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Dortmund) Aubameyang has said he will have to leave Dortmund to reach the next level Getty 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Edinson Cavani (Paris Saint-Germain) Paris Saint-Germain's Uruguayan forward Edinson Cavani celebrates scoring the opening goal during the French Ligue 1 football match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) and Lyon (OL) at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris on September 17, 2017. / AFP PHOTO / FRANCK FIFE (Photo credit should read FRANCK FIFE/AFP/Getty Images) AFP/Getty Images 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Mats Hummels (Bayern Munich) MUNICH, GERMANY - AUGUST 18: Mats Hummels of Bayern Muenchen controls the ball during the Bundesliga match between FC Bayern Muenchen and Bayer 04 Leverkusen at Allianz Arena on August 18, 2017 in Munich, Germany. (Photo by Maja Hitij/Bongarts/Getty Images) Bongarts/Getty Images 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Karim Benzema (Real Madrid) LA CORUNA, SPAIN - AUGUST 20: Karim Benzema of Real Madrid in action during the La Liga match between Deportivo La Coruna and Real Madrid at Riazor Stadium on August 20, 2017 in La Coruna, Spain. (Photo by Octavio Passos/Getty Images) Getty Images 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Cristiano Ronaldo (Real Madrid) Cristiano Ronaldo took a swipe at his critics following his two-goal display for Real Madrid Getty 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Eden Hazard (Chelsea) Getty 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Leonardo Bonucci (AC Milan) MILAN, ITALY - SEPTEMBER 17: Leonardo Bonucci of AC Milan in action during the Serie A match between AC Milan and Udinese Calcio at Stadio Giuseppe Meazza on September 17, 2017 in Milan, Italy. (Photo by Claudio Villa/Getty Images) Getty Images 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Isco (Real Madrid) AFP 2017 Ballon d'Or nominees Kylian Mbappe (Paris Saint-Germain) PARIS, FRANCE - SEPTEMBER 27: Kylian Mbappe of Paris looks on during the UEFA Champions League group B match between Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Muenchen at Parc des Princes on September 27, 2017 in Paris, France. (Photo by Alexander Hassenstein/Bongarts/Getty Images) Bongarts/Getty Images

For years after Diego Maradona, football in Argentina searched for his successor. They anointed one after another, from Diego Latorre to Andres D’Alessandro, but nobody came close.

And then there was Lionel Messi.

It shows how generation-defining Messi has been that this country will never again talk of finding the new Maradona, but the heir to Messi, and coming close to missing out on Russia 2018 has made Argentina realise that not only have they been blessed with one all-time great but two. Should they miss this chance with Messi though, that is it. He’s already retired from internationals once and it is accepted that he will quit the national team after the World Cup.

But what if they don’t get there?