Argentina loses to Paraguay on its road to the 2026 World Cup

Argentina stumbled on Thursday 2-1 in a hard-fought game against Paraguay but still lead the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, in which Brazil failed to reestablish its top form and drew 1-1 against Venezuela.

In Thursday's games, Ecuador took no mercy on Bolivia, winning 4-0 to move into fifth place in the regional pre-World Cup matches, into the automatic qualification zone.

The 11th matchday will be completed on Friday with the duel between Uruguay and Colombia in Montevideo and the one between last-place Peru and Chile in Lima.

Paraguay dreams

Paraguay has risen at an accelerated pace since Gustavo Alfaro took the reins after Copa America 2024: 0-0 draws against Ecuador and Uruguay, both away, and wins against Brazil (1-0) and Venezuela (2-1) at home, in addition to Thursday's victory over the world champions.

Argentina, on the other hand, did not take advantage of the boost they got from the 6-0 thrashing of Bolivia in October, with a hat-trick by Messi, who was well controlled by the home team on Thursday at the Defensores del Chaco stadium in Asuncion.

Messi was almost always trapped in a web of up to three Paraguayans, who prevented him from moving comfortably.

"They defended well. They have experienced people," said Argentina coach Lionel Scaloni. "We tried our way and we couldn't do it," he added.

Paraguay turned the result around with authority after attacker Lautaro Martinez scored for the visitors in the 11th minute.

Antonio Sanabria equalized with an exquisite bicycle kick goal in the 19th minute, and Omar Alderete, two minutes into the second half, sealed the comeback that put Paraguay into fifth place with 16 points.

If nothing strange happens, Argentina will travel to up north in 2026 to defend its world title, although on Thursday it took a step backwards, overcome by a solid Paraguayan team that has only conceded 5 goals in 11 games.

Despite the defeat, Argentina still leads with 22 points, followed by Colombia (19) and Brazil (17) in third place, while Venezuela is in seventh place in the standings with 12 points, along with Bolivia, which sits in eighth due to a worse goal differential.

Brazil fails to impress

Brazil has yet to show signs of full recovery. It only managed a 1-1 draw against a competitive Venezuelan side in the first match of the day.

Raphinha's free kick in the 43rd minute sparked the Seleçao's hopes, but Venezuela came back from the break refreshed, and substitute Telasco Segovia shook Ederson's net with a precise shot from outside the box in the 46th minute.

After the hour mark, Vinicius missed a penalty that was saved by goalkeeper Rafael Romo, the star of the match, and plunged the Seleçao into discouragement until the end of the game.

Brazil was looking to consolidate its position against the Vinotinto after a successful previous double-header in which it defeated Chile (2-1) and Peru (4-0), the two bottom teams in the regional qualifiers, but once again showed signs of weakness.

The evenly matched game proved Brazil coach Dorival Júnior right, who warned before the match: "Don't think we'll have an easy game. Forget about what Venezuela or Bolivia were in the recent past. Nowadays, the world order has changed a lot."

Ecuador on the rise

With the win against Bolivia, Ecuador has definitively placed itself at the table of the South American giants.

Under the leadership of Argentine coach Sebastián Beccacece, a former assistant to Jorge Sampaoli, Ecuador is in contention for one of the six direct berths to the World Cup in North America and sits in fifth place with 16 points.

Superior from start to finish, Ecuador won with a goal from its all-time leading scorer Enner Valencia (26th minute), a brace from winger Gonzalo Plata (28' and 49') and a goal from Alan Minda (60').

With the drubbing they suffered on Thursday and the 6-0 beating at the hands of Argentina the previous day, Bolivia has conceded 10 goals in two games.

These two heavy defeats, however, do not discourage the highlanders, who are confident they can change their luck on the 12th matchday, on Tuesday, when they host Paraguay at their practically impregnable home in El Alto, at over 13,000 feet above sea level.

Main course

But the main event of the 11th matchday will be played the following day, with a tough duel between second-place Colombia and fourth-place Uruguay at Montevideo's Centenario stadium.

Colombia beat bottom-placed Chile 4-0 and is looking forward to a victory in Montevideo that will allow them to catch Argentina.

On the other hand, Uruguay is in a slump due to a lack of play and the unexpected criticism made weeks ago by the idol and former national team member Luis Suarez against coach Marcelo Bielsa, which generated a strong internal convulsion.

Also on Friday, a devalued Pacific Classic will be played in Lima between Peru and Chile, both in the basement of the standings with six and five points, respectively, and in danger of being eliminated from the 2026 World Cup.