CARACAS (VENEZUELA) (ITALPRESS) – Leo Messi’s comeback was not enough and Argentina held back 1-1 at the Estadio Monumental de Maturin against Venezuela. On the ninth day of the South American qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup, the world champion Seleccion unlocked it in the 13th through Otamendi, who was quick to put the ball back into the net on the development of a free kick taken by Messi, making his return to the national team after his injury last July in the Copa America final against Colombia. But under incessant rain – kickoff slipped by half an hour – Vinotinto managed to nab the equalizer in the 65th through a Rondon goring. In the final Scaloni threw in Paredes and Lautaro but it was not enough. “It was a bad game, we couldn’t make two passes in a row because the ball got bogged down,” Messi complained, “It’s difficult to play in these conditions, the pitch didn’t help. Still, Argentina remains in the lead with 19 points ahead of Colombia (16), which cashed in its first defeat of these qualifiers in El Alto: despite Cuellar’s red card after 20 minutes, Bolivia managed to come out on top 1-0 by finding the winning goal through Miguelito in the 58th. Hooked up by Ecuador at 12 and stuck at 0-0 by Paraguay, while Brazil revives. In Santiago, Chile immediately went ahead after two laps of the clock with Vargas but the Greenoro, albeit in a less than brilliant version, managed to turn it around with goals from two Botafogo players: Igor Jesus found the equalizer in the first half recovery, Luiz Henrique completed the comeback in the 89th. On the field throughout the match was Juventus’ Danilo, who found no space with Motta but in the Selecao remains an indispensable starter. Brazil thus climbs to fourth place with 13 points, two less than Uruguay, on the pitch in the night in Lima against Peru.- photo Ipa Agency -(ITALPRESS).
