Colombia beats Argentina to avenge Copa loss

MONTEVIDEO — Colombia avenged its Copa America final defeat with a 2-1 victory over Argentina, while Brazil crashed to a 1-0 defeat against Paraguay in South American qualifying for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday.

Skipper James Rodriguez buried a nerveless 60th-minute spot-kick to seal a hard-fought win for Colombia over the reigning world champion, which was without injured captain Lionel Messi.

It was sweet revenge for Colombia, which was beaten 1-0 by Argentina in a bitterly disappointing Copa America final loss in Miami two months ago.

"I don't think I've ever scored against them — there's a first time for everything," Colombia captain Rodriguez said of his winning penalty kick.

"We want to get used to playing finals. Today was just another game, but against a team that has won everything — this victory tastes even better."

The victory at Barranquilla's Metropolitano Stadium lifted Colombia into second place in South America's 10-team qualifying competition, with 16 points from eight games, just two points behind leader Argentina.

Colombia, backed by a passionate home crowd, took the lead in the 25th minute when Rodriguez chipped a cross to the back post where Yerson Mosquera rose to head home.

But, three minutes after the interval, the visitors drew level when a misplaced pass from Rodriguez was pounced upon by Nicolas Gonzalez, who raced away and slotted past advancing Colombia keeper Camilo Vargas.

Twelve minutes later, though, Colombia restored its lead in controversial fashion.

Nicolas Otamendi clattered Daniel Munoz with a wild challenge. After several minutes, Chilean referee Piero Maza was sent to the VAR monitor and awarded a penalty.

Rodriguez stepped up and confidently slotted home, sending Argentina's prolific penalty stopper Emiliano Martinez the wrong way.

Colombia striker Jhon Duran missed a great chance to make it 3-1, when he found himself unmarked in the center of the box, but fired straight at Martinez.

Despite the defeat, Argentina remains comfortably on course for a place at the 2026 World Cup which is being co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

With the tournament expanded to 48 teams, the top six finishers in South American zone will qualify directly for the finals.

The seventh placed team in qualifying goes into an inter-confederation playoff, with the bottom three teams eliminated.

Brazil's woes continue

Five-time world champion Brazil meanwhile continued its unconvincing qualifying campaign with a 1-0 defeat against Paraguay in Asuncion.

Inter Miami midfielder Diego Gomez — who is reportedly due to join Premier League side Brighton at the end of the season — scored the game's only goal, crashing a long-range shot in off the post in the 20th minute.

The defeat leaves Brazil sitting fifth in the standings with 10 points, leading Venezuela — which drew 0-0 at home to Uruguay on Tuesday — on goal difference.

Paraguay, meanwhile, moved into seventh place on nine points after just its second win of the qualifying campaign.

Elsewhere on Tuesday, Chile's hopes of qualifying suffered another body blow after it slumped to a 2-1 loss at home to Bolivia.

After winning back-to-back Copa America titles in 2015 and 2016, the Chileans failed to qualify for both the 2018 and 2022 World Cups.

The prospect of missing out on a third straight tournament loomed closer, after goals from Carmelo Algaranaz and Miguel Terceros handed Bolivia a 2-1 win.

The victory left Chile languishing in ninth place in the standings with just five points from eight games, as Bolivia climbed to eighth place, trailing seventh-placed Paraguay on goal difference.

Ecuador boosted its qualification hopes with a 1-0 win over Peru in Quito, thanks to a goal from veteran striker Enner Valencia.

Ecuador sits in fourth place with 11 points from eight games.

Peru, however, remains bottom of the table with just three points from 10 games.

AFP