South American World Cup qualifying: Colombia edges Argentina 2-1, Brazil loses to Paraguay

BARRANQUILLA, Colombia (AP) — Two South American soccer powerhouses lost in World Cup qualifying Tuesday 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 champion Argentina 2-1 in Barranquilla. Diego Gómez netted the winner for Paraguay in a 1-0 victory over Brazil at 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 equalized in the 48th after Nico Gonzalez 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.

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 equalize, and gave coach Dorival Júnior his first defeat since taking over in January.

In other games Tuesday, Bolivia upset Chile 2-1 at Santiago, Ecuador beat Peru 1-0, and Venezuela drew 0-0 with Uruguay.

Argentina leads the round-robin competition with 18 points after eight matches, two points clear of Colombia. Uruguay is in third position with 15 points, followed by Ecuador with 14. Brazil is 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.

COLOMBIA 2-1 ARGENTINA

The 2022 World Cup winners also lifted the Copa America trophy in July after a 1-0 overtime victory over Colombia. The Colombians seemed to have that match on their minds as they found a way to beat Arrgentina for the first time since 2019.

“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.”

Colombia once again had the 33-year-old Rodríguez to thank after he gave a perfect cross for Mosquera’s opening header. That equalized Carlos Valderrama’s record of 11 assists in South American World Cup qualifying.

When he fired past Dibu Martínez, a prolific penalty stopper, in the 60th minute, Rodríguez equalized Falcao García’s mark of 13 goals in World Cup qualifying.

Argentina’s strikers Lautaro Martínez and Julián Álvarez failed to offer as much danger as they do when veteran Messi is there to create opportunities for them.

Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni said the heat had an impact on the match.

“The heat is the same for both, but it is evident that there were not good conditions for us to see a spectacle,” the coach said.

PARAGUAY 1-0 BRAZIL

Brazil’s 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.

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.