In the first match in the Venezuelan city of Maturin, he looked like a star Lionel Messi Returning to the lineup Argentina After missing the previous two rounds due to injury, he was placed World champions On the right track to regain the winning tone after losing to Colombia 1-2 in the eighth round, when a side free kick taken in the 13th minute caused a tumble in front of the home team’s goal, so defender Nicolas Otamendi took advantage of it and followed it up with a rebound from the defense into the empty goal, opening the scoring..
But Venezuela’s fighting performance in front of its home fans translated into an equalizer midway through the second half when veteran striker Salomon Rondon met a cross from Iverson Sotildo with his header over goalkeeper Jerónimo Rulli..
Argentina failed to achieve victory for the second match in a row, settling for one point that kept it in the lead and on track to qualify for the 2026 finals after raising its score to 19 points, taking advantage of the loss of its direct chase. Colombia Against its host Bolivia 0-1, scored by Miguelito in the 58th minute.
Bolivia played with 10 players from the 21st minute after its defender Hector Cuellar was sent off for obstructing striker Roger Becker Martinez Tobinson as he launched from the middle of the field in a counterattack..
Bolivia rose to sixth place with 12 points, while Colombia’s balance was frozen at 16 points in second place and is threatened with falling to third place if Uruguay (15 points) wins over its last host, Peru (3 points) on Friday..
In the second, it revived Brazil Its hopes of qualifying directly when it turned the tables on its host Chile and snatched a fatal 2-1 victory from it.
Brazil, which was without many of its main pillars due to injury, most notably Real Madrid’s Spanish stars Vinicius Junior and Eder Militao and Liverpool’s English goalkeeper Alisson Becker, found itself falling behind to an early goal scored by striker Eduardo Vargas with a header from close range over Manchester City’s English goalkeeper Ederson.
Brazil, which achieved only its fourth victory in the qualifiers and the second in its last seven matches (4 defeats and one draw), waited until the first minute of stoppage time in the first half to equalize with a header also by Botafogo striker Igor da Cruz following a pass from Manchester City striker Savinho..
Botafogo’s other striker, Luiz Henrique, Savinho’s replacement, scored the winning goal in the 89th minute with a shot from the edge of the area..
Brazil rose to fourth place with 13 points, while Chile’s balance froze at 5 points in ninth-to-last place and is threatened with falling to last place if Peru wins over Uruguay today..
