Author: Amrit Santlani
The road to the 2026 FIFA World Cup continued with the South American giants in action on Tuesday. Defending champions Argentina beat Bolivia 3-0 without their talisman Lionel Messi. Brazil beat Peru 1-0 to stay top of the South American qualifying group. Ecuador beat Uruguay 2-1, Venezuela beat Paraguay 1-0 and Chile were held 0-0 by Colombia.
Bolivia – Argentina – 0:3
Messi scored the winning goal in Argentina’s 1-0 win over Ecuador, but was left out of the altitude test in La Paz. Lionel Scaloni’s side managed to beat the hosts 3-0 thanks to goals from Enzo Fernandez, Nicolas Tagliafico and Nico González. A red card for Bolivia’s Roberto Fernández in the 39th minute made the hosts suffer even more.
Fernández opened the scoring in the 31st minute after a cross from Ángel Di María, who also played a part in the second goal when he took the free-kick that Tagliafico deflected into the net with his shoulder just before the end of the first half to make it 2-0. González then sealed the three points with a late strike in the 83rd minute.
Ecuador-Uruguay – 2:1
Uruguay had the chance to close the gap on group leaders Brazil and Argentina, but were denied by two goals from Felix Torres, although Augustin Canobbio opened the scoring first. Valencia also missed a penalty in the 51st minute, hitting the post.
The Ecuadorians suffered a major setback when Robert Arboleda was carried off the pitch in tears after suffering a suspected serious injury. The fans of São Paulo, the club where the player plays, are hoping that he will be in action for the final of the Copa do Brasil.
After the game, Arboleda told reporters:“I’m in a bit of pain, now I’m going to have some tests, let’s hope it’s nothing serious and I can carry on as normal.”
Venezuela-Paraguay – 1-0
In addition, Salomon Rondon scored a dramatic penalty at the end of the game (90 mins) to secure three invaluable points for Venezuela against Paraguay. Let’s add Herrera’s goal in the 78th minute, which the referee disallowed due to a handball.
Chile-Colombia – 0-0
Chile and Colombia shared the prize. Note that Chile’s Echeverria hit the post, and Maripan’s goal in the 77th minute was disallowed for offside.
Brazil lead the South American qualifying group after two rounds, with Argentina in second place due to an inferior goal difference. Colombia moved up to third place, while Uruguay dropped to fourth; Venezuela is in fifth, Paraguay in sixth, followed by Peru in seventh and Chile in eighth. Ecuador are in ninth place and Bolivia are bottom of the table.