just realized. That would be crazy. To be clear, I think they'll make it, but a look at the standings and their remaining games, plus Messi's suspension, make it very possible that they won't play next summer.
With 4 games left, they're in 5th place in the South American group, 1 point behind Chile and 2 pts ahead of Ecuador. The top 4 qualify automatically, while #5 has to play New Zealand in a playoff.
Argentina's next game is at Uruguay, so there's a very real chance they'll lose. And their last game will be played at an elevation of 9100 ft above sea level in Ecuador; Argentina has an infamously poor track record playing at high altitude (e.g. they lost their last qualifier 2-0 at Bolivia, in March), and Ecuador is a decent team that is also trying to qualify. Their other two games are easy home games vs Venezuela and, to a lesser extent, Peru.
Anyway, if they lose to Uruguay, or stumble to a draw vs Peru, they might well go into that last game in Ecuador facing elimination, or at least the possibility of having to face the playoff. A loss in Quito could be disastrous for them.