Captain Messi, who was fully recovered from an injury sustained in the Copa America final against Colombia in July, was 37 years old when he set up Otamendi to score 13 minutes after kickoff, which was delayed by 30 minutes due to heavy rain. Otamendi scored the goal by scoring from a free kick on a wet pitch.
Geronimo Rulli, who was in place of Emiliano “Dibu” Martinez while he was serving a two-match suspension for offensive behavior, put in a strong performance to keep Salomon Rondon from scoring in the first half.
Notwithstanding, the decided Venezuelan striker balanced in the final part with an uncommon header from a Yeferson Soteldo’s cross to move his group to 6th in the standings with 11 focuses for a brief time.
After Argentina’s manager Lionel Scaloni brought on Lautaro Martinez and Leandro Paredes five minutes into the game, the team was hoping for a winner, but the wet field only made the World Cup champions’ problems worse.
“It was an appalling match. Because of the water on the field, we were unable to even make two passes at once. It is challenging to play in these circumstances, the pitch didn’t help,” Messi told TyC Sports after the game.
Argentina, winners of the World Cup in 2022, will still be able to compete in the 2026 finals, which will be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico, despite the points loss.
The top six teams from South America’s 10-team round-robin qualifying competition will advance to the tournament’s finals, which will feature 48 teams.
Argentina lead the standings with 19 focuses from nine games, three focuses clear of second-put Colombia, who experienced a shock 1-0 loss to Bolivia in a game played in the slight quality of El Alto, which is arranged at around 4,150m (13,600 feet) above ocean level.
Attempting to end a 13-game winless go against their rivals, Bolivia began well however needed to play a large portion of the game with 10 men as Hector Cuellar was shipped off with a straight red card for bringing striker Roger Martinez down as the last man in the twentieth moment.
Notwithstanding, the savage local people figured out how to find the champ in a staggering strike by Miguel Terceros, who overwhelmed close to the right touchline, slicing inside to beat two Colombians prior to releasing a fine left-footed strike that flew into the upper left corner in 58th moment.
Subsequent to guaranteeing a shock 2-1 win away to Chile last month, Bolivia are presently sitting in 6th spot in the South American standings with 12 focuses from nine games.
Ecuador finished the day in fifth place in the table after a 0-0 draw with Paraguay in Quito. Bolivia and Ecuador are level on points.
With 13 points from nine games, substitute Luiz Henrique scored a goal in the 89th minute to propel Brazil into fourth place in the standings.
Brazil had to come back from a goal down in the second minute when Eduardo Vargas scored with a header from a Felipe Loyola cross after a disappointing loss to Paraguay and losing four of their last five qualifiers due to a string of poor performances.
Chile missed chances to increase their lead, but Brazil scored in extra time before the break. Savinho made a strong run down the right and crossed to Igor Jesus, who sent a towering header past the goalkeeper and received his first national team call-up.
Luiz Henrique slotted a curling strike from the edge of the box to give Brazil, the five-time World Cup champions, a well-deserved late winner. Brazil controlled the second half and needed three points to win.
