On Tuesday, two major South American soccer teams faced losses in World Cup qualifying without their star players. Lionel Messi was absent for Argentina’s 2-1 defeat to Colombia, and Neymar was still out for Brazil’s surprising loss to Paraguay.
James Rodríguez scored a penalty and provided an assist to help Colombia narrowly beat defending champion Argentina 2-1 in Barranquilla. Diego Gómez scored the only goal in Paraguay’s 1-0 win over Brazil in Asunción.
Both Argentina and Brazil struggled in the absence of their key players, with Messi’s and Neymar’s replacements unable to secure away wins.
Yerson Mosquera gave Colombia the lead with a header in the 25th minute. Argentina equalized in the 48th minute when Nico Gonzalez intercepted a pass from Rodríguez. Rodríguez later scored the winning penalty in the 60th minute after a video review at the Metropolitano Stadium.
Gómez’s goal for Paraguay came from the edge of the box and deflected off Brazil’s goalkeeper Alisson’s right post. Brazil had few chances to level the score and handed coach Dorival Júnior his first defeat since he took over in January.
In other matches on Tuesday, Bolivia defeated Chile 2-1 in Santiago, Ecuador won 1-0 against Peru, and Venezuela drew 0-0 with Uruguay.
Argentina leads the standings with 18 points from eight matches, two points ahead of Colombia. Uruguay is in third place with 15 points, followed by Ecuador with 14. Brazil is in fifth place with 10 points.
Each team has two more qualifying matches next month. The top six teams in South American qualifying will earn automatic spots in the 2026 World Cup.
