Grapevine

By Al Jazeera
Sep 11, 2024

Argentina, Brazil lose World Cup 2026 qualifiers without Messi and Neymar

World champions Argentina lose 2-1 in Colombia, while Brazil were handed a 1-0 loss away to Paraguay in their qualifying matches for the FIFA World Cup 2026.

Two South American football powerhouses lost their FIFA World Cup 2026 qualifying matches in the absence of their biggest stars, as Lionel Messi missed Argentina’s 2-1 loss to Colombia and Neymar was absent as Brazil were upset by Paraguay.

James Rodriguez scored from the penalty spot and had an assist to help Colombia edge world champions Argentina 2-1 in Barranquilla and Diego Gomez netted the winner for Paraguay in a 1-0 victory over Brazil at Asuncion on Tuesday.

Both Argentina and Brazil struggled without their injured stars, with the replacements for Messi and Neymar unable to deliver away wins for their teams.

Colombia 2-1 Argentina