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.
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.
