The South American World Cup 2026 qualifiers group was blown wide open on Friday when both the world champions and the FIFA ranked no. 1 team lost, as Uruguay and Colombia took care of Argentina and Brazil.
Runaway leaders Argentina met second paced Uruguay with a 100-per cent record, but they were blown away by La Celeste, who silenced a raucous home crowd with a ruthless performance.
The result propelled Marcelo Bielsa’s side up to second place and within two points of Argentina. Liverpool’s Darwin Nunez had to wait until the 87th minute to score his goal, but he was a menace throughout and came close with just 10 minutes gone after a rare lapse in the Argentina defence.
It was Barcelona defender Ronald Araujo who broke the deadlock before the break, and Nunez made the points safe with a breakaway goal as Lionel Messi probed for a leveller at the other end of the pitch.
It was nothing more than Uruguay deserved as the went at their hosts from the off, overstepping the mark at times and giving away 22 fouls, but Bielsa expected nothing less since his players defended like tigers and struck like a cobra.
Messi summed it up, saying: “We never felt comfortable in this match. Uruguay is a physical team, they have good teamwork. It is always like that against them.”
La Celeste inflicted a first defeat on the world champions since they lost a group match to Saudi Arabia in Qatar a year ago, and the two Uruguay strikes were the first Argentina have conceded in this competition.
The result completed an impressive double for Uruguay, who have also beaten Brazil. And that means the Selecao now sit three points behind Bielsa’s boys and five behind leaders Argentina.
Next up for the world champions is at trip to the Maracana Stadium to face Brazil, and that is not a game to miss. Uruguay host Bolivia, and it would take a brave man to bet against them.
Diaz has a perfect week
Nunez’s Liverpool teammate Luis Diaz has been going through a nightmare over the past two weeks after his parents were kidnapped in his Colombia homeland. And while his mother was freed last week, his father was only released on Thursday.
So Colombia’s match with Brazil gave him a chance to meet his parents again and then make them proud with his performance against the Selecao. He was Colombia’s best player and Diaz gave the Brazil defence a torrid time from the off, and he got his reward with two headed goals.
While Brazil had more possession, it was Colombia who showed much more menace when they had the ball, winning the shot counts by 23 to 12 and 10 to three on target.
Arsenal winger Gabriel Martinelli had given Brazil an early lead, but the force of Colombia’s desire inevitably made the difference and it was Diaz’s day.
In contrast, it was a bad night all round for Brazil who saw Vinicius Jr. limp off with a thigh injury after 27 minutes.
Neymar was stretchered off during Brazil’s defeat to Uruguay in October, and the loss of Vinicius, just when the Selecao are about to meet the World Champions, is a serious blow.
Brazil are now winless in three, and that is not a situation they are used to.
The World Cup 2026 betting odds here at SBOTOP will pitch both Brazil and Argentina in the small group of potential winner, but this week could turn out to a bad one for either or both.
Bolivia off the mark
Bottom team Bolivia swapped places with Peru on Thursday thanks to a 2-0 win at the Hernando Siles Stadium in La Paz.
La Verde were pointless and rock bottom for the visit of ninth-placed Peru, and they stood up to the test as Henry Vaca settled their nerves on 20 minutes and Ramiro Vaca saw out the win on 87 minutes. The result lifted Bolivia to ninth and left Peru rooted to the bottom.
Meanwhile, the other two World Cup 2026 results threw up goalless draws. Chile versus Paraguay was an eighth vs seventh clash, and that’s exactly where they ended up, though Chile dominated throughout and will be disappointed with a point.
Venezuela and Ecuador stay in fourth and sixth places after they played out a boring draw which could have sent the most excited fan to sleep. The two teams slugged it out and shared possession, but they only mustered three shots on target between them throughout this snoozefest. Argentina and Colombia were the places to be.
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