Major upsets as Brazil falls to Paraguay, Argentina gets defeated by Colombia in World Cup Qualifiers

In World Cup qualifying action on Tuesday, two South American footballing giants seemed to meet the services of their injured stars in the likes of Neymar and Lionel Messi.

Argentina, misses the greatest of all time, Lionel Messi, and fell 2-1 to Colombia. James Rodriguez shined with a goal and assist and avenged Columbia's Copa America finals loss. Brazil, still without Neymar Junior, had a major upset by Paraguay with a 1-0 defeat. Diego Gomez scored the match-winning goal against 5-time World Champions Brazil at Asuncion.

Both teams struggled to secure victory on the road without their injured stars, as the stand-ins for Messi and Neymar were unable to deliver the desired results.

Columbia avenged Copa America finals loss

In the 25th minute, Yerson Mosquera scored for Colombia with a close-range header, followed by Argentina equalizing in the 48th minute after Nico Gonzalez intercepted a Rodríguez pass. Rodríguez later redeemed himself with a penalty in the 60th minute, awarded after a video review, securing the win at the Metropolitano Stadium. Argentina's strikers Lautaro Martinez and Julian Alvarez failed to threaten Columbian defence lines in the absence of Lionel Messi, who knits the assists for the duo.

“It is a great win against an Argentina team that has won it all. The weather was tough, it was so hot, but we had an excellent match. It is a fair win," Rodriguez said. 

"The heat is the same for both, but it is evident that there were not good conditions for us to see a spectacle," Argentine coach Schaloni said.

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Brazilian Coach's bold claims backfired

After the loss to Paraguay, it's clear that Brazilian coach, Dorival Junior's confident prediction of reaching the World Cup final has some distance to go. The decision to start with a trio of Real Madrid strikers against a defensively strong Paraguay team didn't go as planned. As soon as the hosts scored in the 20th minute, midfielder Lucas Moura felt the game was over.

Following the defeat, Brazilian star Moura complained about Paraguay's strategy and stated that they only came to defend. Brazilian defender Marqunios added that the team lacks the usual confidence in recent times and that they are trying their best to find the best possible way to play the game .

Tuesday: A tale of Upsets 

Tuesday proved to be a day full of Upsets. In other fixtures, Bolivia stunned Chile 2-1 at Santiago. Ecuador upset Peru 1-0. Argentina remains the table-toppers with 18 points after 8 matches, closely followed by Columbia and Uruguay, who sit at 16 and 15 points, respectively. Ecuador and Brazil, with 14 and 10 points, remain in 4th and 5th place.

With two more qualifying fixtures to go, the top 6 teams will get direct qualification spots for the World Cup 2026 from the South American continent.

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