Uruguay and Colombia surprised favorites Argentina and Brazil in another round of the South American qualifying phase for the 2026 World Cup.
Uruguay won 2-0 at champion Argentina on Thursday and Colombia beat Brazil 2-1 at home, in a comeback signed by Luis Díaz, in the fifth South American qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup.
In a round of strong emotions, the ‘celeste’ team achieved their first triumph on Argentine soil since 1989, against a team led by Lionel Scaloni who had conceded no goals in the eight games played after winning the title in Qatar2022.
The team led by Argentine Marcelo Bielsa performed at a high level in the ‘mythical’ La Bombonera, winning with goals from defender Ronald Araújo, in the 41st minute, and from ex-Benfiquista striker Darwin Núñez, in the 87th minute.
The home team, uninspired, practically only responded to individual shots from ‘captain’ Lionel Messi, namely two direct free kicks from ’10’, one canceled by the wall, in the 23rd minute, and the other by the bar, in the 57th.
With Otamendi – who suffered from Darwin’s speed – from the start and Di María from the 53rd minute onwards, Argentina did not avoid the second defeat in the last 52 games (37 more wins and 13 draws), after the 0-2 with Brazil, on July 3, 2019.
Despite the defeat, Argentina maintains the leadership of the South American qualifying zone for the 2016 World Cup, with 12 points, against 10 for Uruguay, which rose to second place.
Colombia is now in third place, with nine points, thanks to former Porto player Luis Díaz, who, after a lot of trying, ‘destroyed’ Brazil with two well-aimed headers, in the final part of the match, in the 75th and 79th minutes. .
With his father, recently kidnapped and later released, in the stands in Barranquilla, Díaz scored following crosses from Braga’s Cristian Borja, who came on at half-time, and former Porto player James Rodríguez, respectively.
The Liverpool player’s ‘double’ allowed Colombia, which was coming off three draws, to make its debut by beating Brazil in World Cup qualifiers and imposing on the Brazilians an unprecedented second defeat in a row in qualifying, after the 0-2 in the Uruguay.
The ‘canarinha’ team, which featured Porto player Pepê from the 81st minute (he replaced Renan Lodi), scored first, after just four minutes, through Gabriel Martinelli, after a play with Vinicius Júnior, who was injured in the 26th minute.
In the classification, which qualifies the first six directly for the 2016 World Cup and places seventh in an intercontinental ‘play-off’, the ‘canarinha’ fell to fifth place, with seven points, also behind Venezuela, which rose to fourth, with eight .
The Venezuelans scored the fourth game in a row – after the 0-1 in Colombia -, just like Ecuador, who remains in sixth place, last in direct qualification, not with the eight points gained, but with five, as they lost three in the ‘secretary’.
In seventh place, also with five points, is Paraguay, who despite playing in numerical inferiority from the 44th to the 88th minute, achieved a 0-0 draw against Chile, who remain in eighth place, also with five points.
In the clash that opened the round, between the last two, Bolivia scored the first points, after four defeats, and handed the red lantern spot to Peru, by beating the Peruvians in Laz 2-0, with a goal in each half .
Henry Vaca, in the 20th minute, and Ramiro Vaca, in the 87th minute, sealed the fourth consecutive defeat for the Peruvians, who started with a promising 0-0 draw in Paraguay.
2023-11-17 07:16:00
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