Colombia
\nTwo South American football powerhouses lost their FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying matches in the absence of their biggest stars, as Lionel Messi missed Argentina\u2019s 2-1 loss to Colombia and Neymar was absent as Brazil were upset by Paraguay.
\nJames Rodriguez scored from the penalty spot and had an assist to help Colombia edge world champions Argentina 2-1 in Barranquilla and Diego Gomez netted the winner for Paraguay in a 1-0 victory over Brazil at Asuncion on Tuesday.
\nBoth Argentina and Brazil struggled without their injured stars, with the replacements for Messi and Neymar unable to deliver away wins for their teams.<\/p>\n
Colombia 2-1 Argentina
\nIt was sweet revenge for Colombia, who were beaten 1-0 by Argentina in a bitterly disappointing Copa America final loss as the World Cup 2022 winners also lifted the continental trophy in Miami in July. The Colombians seemed to have that match on their minds as they found a way to beat Argentina for the first time since 2019.
\nYerson Mosquera opened the scoring for Colombia with a close-range header in the 25th minute but Argentina equalised in the 48th after Nico Gonzalez intercepted a Rodriguez pass. Rodriguez made amends on the hour with his penalty, awarded after a video review, securing the win at the Metropolitano Stadium.
\n\u201cIt is a great win against an Argentina team that has won it all,\u201d Rodriguez said. \u201cThe weather was tough, it was so hot, but we had an excellent match. It is a fair win.\u201d
\nArgentina coach Lionel Scaloni said the heat had an impact on the match.
\n\u201cThe heat is the same for both, but it is evident that there were not good conditions for us to see a spectacle,\u201d the coach said.<\/p>\n
Paraguay 1-0 Brazil
\nGomez scored for Paraguay from the edge of the box, with the ball deflecting in off goalkeeper Alisson\u2019s right post. Brazil had few opportunities to equalise and gave coach Dorival Junior his first defeat since taking over in January.
\nBrazil\u2019s coach, usually reserved in front of the media, told a news conference on Monday that his team will be in the next World Cup final. The defeat at Paraguay suggested he is still miles away from delivering on that promise.
\nHis idea of starting against a defensively sound Paraguay team with a trio of Real Madrid strikers \u2013 Vinicius Junior, Endrick and Rodrygo \u2013 clearly failed. Midfielder Lucas Moura said \u201cthe game was over\u201d as soon as the hosts opened the scoring in the 20th minute.
\n\u201cThey already came to defend, even more so after they scored,\u201d substitute Moura said.
\nDefender Marquinhos said Brazil\u2019s squad doesn\u2019t have \u201cthe usual confidence\u201d in recent times.
\n\u201cWe are trying to find the best way to play,\u201d he said. \u201cThere are many pieces being changed.\u201d<\/p>\n
CONMEBOL qualifiers evenly poised
\nIn the other CONMEBOL qualifiers on Tuesday, Bolivia upset Chile 2-1 at Santiago, Ecuador beat Peru 1-0, and Venezuela drew 0-0 with Uruguay.
\nArgentina lead the round-robin competition with 18 points after eight matches, two points clear of Colombia. Uruguay are in third position with 15 points, followed by Ecuador with 14. Brazil have been pushed to fifth with 10 points.
\nDespite the defeat, Argentina remain comfortably on course for a place at the World Cup 2026, which is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.
\nWith the tournament expanded to 48 teams, the top six finishers in South American qualifying will win a berth to the finals.
\nThe seventh placed team in qualifying goes into an inter-confederation playoff, with the bottom three teams eliminated.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Colombia Two South American football powerhouses lost their FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying matches in the absence of their biggest stars, as Lionel Messi missed Argentina\u2019s 2-1 loss to Colombia and Neymar was absent as Brazil were upset by Paraguay. James Rodriguez scored from the penalty spot and had an assist to help Colombia edge […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":430744,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-430718","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n