Two South American powerhouses lost in World Cup qualifying in the absence of their biggest stars, with Lionel Messi missing Argentina’s 2-1 loss to Colombia and Neymar still on the sidelines for Brazil’s upset defeat in Paraguay.
James Rodríguez scored from the penalty spot and had an assist to help Colombia edge defending champions Argentina in Barranquilla, while Diego Gómez netted the winner for Paraguay in a 1-0 victory over Brazil in Asunción.
Both Argentina and Brazil struggled without their injured stars, with the replacements for Messi and Neymar unable to deliver away wins for their teams.
Yerson Mosquera opened the scoring for Colombia with a close-range header in the 25th minute but Argentina equalised in the 48th after Nico González intercepted a Rodríguez pass. Rodríguez made amends on the hour with his penalty, awarded after a video review, securing the win at the Metropolitano Stadium.
“It is a great win against an Argentina team that has won it all,” Rodríguez said. “The weather was tough, it was so hot, but we had an excellent match. It is a fair win.”
Gómez scored for Paraguay from the edge of the box, with the ball deflecting in off goalkeeper Alisson’s right post. Brazil had few opportunities to equalise, and gave coach Dorival Júnior his first defeat since taking over in January
Brazil’s coach, usually reserved in front of the media, said on Monday that his team will be in the next World Cup final, but the defeat suggested his team is some way from delivering on that promise.
His idea of starting against a defensively sound Paraguay team with a trio of Real Madrid strikers – Vinicius Júnior, Endrick and Rodrygo – clearly failed. Midfielder Lucas Moura said “the game was over” as soon as the hosts opened the scoring in the 20th minute.
“They already came to defend, even more so after they scored,” substitute Moura said.
Defender Marquinhos said Brazil’s squad doesn’t have “the usual confidence” in recent times.
“We are trying to find the best way to play,” he said. “There are many pieces being changed.”
Paraguay collected a historic win that keeps the team in contention for a spot in the next World Cup. The squad assembled by new coach Gustavo Alfaro seemed doomed to miss out in 2026 until it held Uruguay to a draw last week and then upset Brazil
In other games Tuesday, Bolivia upset Chile 2-1 in Santiago, Ecuador beat Peru 1-0, and Venezuela drew 0-0 with Uruguay.
Argentina 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 are in fifth with 10.
All teams have two more qualifying matches next month. The top six teams in South American qualifying will get automatic spots at the 2026 World Cup.
