AFP
NOS Voetbal•vandaag, 06:36
Argentina has suffered its first defeat since winning the World Cup in Qatar. Uruguay was too strong in Buenos Aires with 0-2. Nevertheless, the Argentines are still in good shape in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup. The same cannot be said of Brazil.
The five-time world champion lost 2-1 to Colombia. As a result, Brazil drops to fifth place in the South American qualifying group. The top six countries will qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup in Canada, the US and Mexico. The number seven still plays in the play-offs for a World Cup ticket.
Uruguay played more fiercely than the Argentinians and took the lead just before half time through Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo. Argentina mainly relied on inspiration from Lionel Messi.
The 36-year-old star player was close to the equalizer with two free kicks. He hit the crossbar on his second attempt. Shortly before the end, Uruguay decided the game. After Messi lost the ball around the Uruguayan penalty area, the team countered quickly and Liverpool striker Darwin Nunez made it 0-2.
South America World Cup Qualifying Standings
1 Argentina 5-12 2 Uruguay 5-10 3 Colombia 5-9 4 Venezuela 5-8 5 Brazil 5-7 6 Ecuador 5-5 7 Paraguay 5-5 8 Chile 5-5 9 Bolivia 5-3 10 Peru 5-1
This ended a winning streak of fourteen matches for Argentina, which started in Qatar. “We never felt comfortable in this match,” Messi said. “Uruguay is a very physical opponent, who plays well together as a team. That’s how they always play.”
Kidnapped father
Despite an early lead, Brazil fell in Colombia. Arsenal striker Gabriel Martinelli opened the scoring after just four minutes. But Liverpool’s Luis Diaz was man of the match with two goals within four minutes of the second half.
EPALuis Diaz celebrates one of his goals against Brazil
Diaz has been in the news in recent days after his father was kidnapped for almost two weeks. He was released again a few days ago. Luis Manuel Diaz was in the crowd at the match in Barranquilla and enthusiastically celebrated his son’s goals.
Brazil had to make do without the injured Neymar and Casemiro. Moreover, Vinicius Junior was injured after just 25 minutes.
Of the five matches in World Cup qualifying, Brazil only managed to win two. The top match against Argentina is scheduled for Tuesday evening (local time) in Rio de Janeiro.
Other results
Chile – Paraguay 0-0
Venezuela – Ecuador 0-0
Bolivia – Peru 2-0
2023-11-17 05:36:52
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