Argentina And Ecuador Win Crucial FIFA 2026 World Cup Qualifiers
Argentina's midfielder #11 Thiago Almada celebrates after scoring during the 2026 FIFA World Cup ... More South American qualifiers football match between Uruguay and Argentina at the Centenario stadium in Montevideo, on March 21, 2025.
Round 13 of South American qualifying for the FIFA 2026 World Cup included mouth-watering fixtures like Uruguay vs Argentina and Brazil vs Colombia. The World Champions made huge strides towards the next tournament and there were also important victories for the likes of Ecuador and Peru.
MONTEVIDEO, URUGUAY - MARCH 21: Cristian Romero of Argentina and Maximiliano Araujo of Uruguay argue ... More during the South of American FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier match between Uruguay and Argentina at Centenario Stadium on March 21, 2025 in Montevideo, Uruguay.
Argentina may have been missing Lionel Messi but that didn't stop the team claiming three points against neighbours Uruguay on Friday night. The Estadio Centenario is a hostile place for any national side to visit but Argentina grew into the game and was able to take home a valuable victory; leaving them one match away from official World Cup qualification.
This game included some huge tackles, plenty of passion and there was absolutely no love lost between both sets of players. However Argentina would take the tie by the scruff of the neck in the second period, and as the game opened up the Qatar 2022 World Cup winners looked by far the more likely side to score.
Julián Alvarez led the line brilliantly and almost carved open Uruguay with some majestic passes. He provided the assist for the only goal of the game but it was a simple ball in the end. The rest of the magic was worked by scorer Thiago Almada; who whipped the ball into the top corner of the net from outside the box. It was a stunning strike from a fine young talent, worth winning any game.
Edison Flores of Peru celebrates scoring the third goal for his team during the FIFA World Cup 2026 ... More Qualifier match between Peru and Bolivia at Estadio Nacional de Lima on March 20, 2025 in Lima, Peru. (Photo by Martín Fonseca/Eurasia)
Peru defeated Bolivia on Thursday night in Lima to earn just a second victory in 13 rounds of FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifying matches. The win moves Peru just three points behind their visitors who currently hold on to a crucial World Cup play-off spot.
An away victory would have doomed Peru completely but now the race to qualify, for that play-off spot at least, is back on. Three goals on the night was as many as this Peru team could manage in their previous 12 qualifiers, so the home spectators surely got a welcome surprise in Lima on this occasion.
On the other hand, Bolivia has now conceded 30 goals in 13 league games, more than double the goals conceded by any other team. Yet, Bolivia has a home advantage so strong that the team might still be the favourite to earn a World Cup play-off spot.
ASUNCION, PARAGUAY - MARCH 20: Omar Alderete of Paraguay celebrates after scoring the team's first ... More goal during the South American FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifier match between Paraguay and Chile at Estadio Defensores del Chaco on March 20, 2025 in Asuncion, Paraguay. (Photo by)
As Peru moved off the bottom spot Chile sank below them in the table after a 1-0 defeat in Paraguay. The visitors' woes were compounded by a second-half goal from centre-back Omar Alderete, who also scored in the home victory against Argentina late last year.
Paraguay is in dreamland though. This win means that the team moves into fifth in the table and sits a comfortable seven points clear of Bolivia in the play-off spot. A fantastic run of form has propelled the Paraguayans towards a first World Cup finals place since 2010, when historically they made it all the way to the quarter-finals for the first and only time.
TOPSHOT - Ecuador's forward #13 Enner Valencia celebrates after scoring during the 2026 FIFA World ... More Cup South American qualifiers football match between Ecuador and Venezuela, at the Rodrigo Paz Delgado stadium in Quito, on March 21, 2025.
Ecuador captain Enner Valencia bagged a brace to send his nation into second place in the South American FIFA 2026 World Cup qualifying table. Ecuador dominated the ball and made it five wins and two draws in seven home games during this campaign. After leaders Argentina it's fair to say that Ecuador has outperformed any other side in South American qualifying so far. They also have the best defensive record of all.
For Venezuela this loss makes it seven away games without a single victory in the campaign. Their impressive start has completely faded and recent results have been poor. Luckily, Venezuela is only one point off the World Cup play-off spot and can bounce back in the next fixture at home to Peru.
Colombia's midfielder #16 Jefferson Lerma and Bolivia's defender #03 Diego Medina fight for the ball ... More during the 2026 FIFA World Cup South American qualifiers football match between Brazil and Colombia, at the Mane Garrincha stadium in Brasilia, on March 20, 2025.
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