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Without the injured Messi and the retired Di María, Argentina continues with its winning habits and this Thursday it did so against Chile by 3-0 in the return of the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in North America, in which Bolivia resurrected itself by beating Venezuela 4-0 in El Alto, 4,150 meters above sea level.
After a ten-month break, since November 2023, the regional qualifiers returned on Thursday with two matches on the seventh round, which will be completed on Friday with three matches.
At the Monumental in Buenos Aires, prior to the match between the Albiceleste and Chile, Ángel Di María, who retired from the Argentine national team after recently winning the Copa América in the United States, received a great tribute from the public present.
Later, his teammates, who until two months ago beat Chile 3-0, remained at the top of the standings with 18 points in seven games played.
Alexis Mac Allister at 48 minutes, Julián Alvarez at 84 and Paulo Dybala at 90+1 scored the goals for the world champion, who on Tuesday in the eighth round will visit Colombia in Barranquilla, their victim in the final of the last Copa América.
Bolivia regained hope of reaching the World Cup with a 4-0 win over Venezuela on Thursday at the Municipal Stadium in El Alto, at 4,150 meters above sea level, which debuted in World Cup qualifying.
The goals for the Verde were scored by Ramiro Vaca (13), Carmelo Algarañaz (45+5), Miguel Terceros (46) and Enzo Monteiro (89).
With this result, Bolivia climbed to seventh place with six points, one more than Paraguay and Chile, eighth and ninth, respectively, while Venezuela remains in fourth place with nine points.
At the top, Argentina leads with 18 points; followed by Uruguay with 13; Colombia with 12; Venezuela with 9; Ecuador with 8 and Brazil with 7.
Peru closes the positions with two units.
The South American qualifiers grant six places for the 2026 World Cup and the seventh the possibility of a play-off against a team from another confederation.
On Friday, at the Centenario stadium in Montevideo, Luis Suárez will bid farewell to the Celeste, of which he is the all-time top scorer with 69 goals and has defended 142 times, against a Paraguay team in which Argentine coach Gustavo Alfaro will make his debut on the bench.
In the second round, in Sao Paulo, a desperate Brazil, which occupies an unusual sixth place, will host a tough Ecuador in a match that it must win to start to get back on track.
The seventh round will close in Lima, where bottom-placed Peru will host Colombia, who lost the Copa America final but are on a fast track to the World Cup.
— Matches of the seventh round:
– Thursday:
In El Alto: Bolivia-Venezuela 4-0
In Buenos Aires: Argentina-Chile 3-0
– Friday:
In Montevideo (23:30 GMT): Uruguay-Paraguay
In Sao Paulo (01:00 GMT on Saturday): Brazil-Ecuador
In Lima (01:30 GMT on Saturday): Peru-Colombia
– Positions:
– Pts J G E P Gf Gc Dif
1. Argentina 18 7 6 0 1 11 2 9
2. Uruguay 13 6 4 1 1 13 5 8
3. Colombia 12 6 3 3 0 6 3 3
4. Venezuela 9 7 2 3 2 6 7 -1
5. Ecuador 8 6 3 2 1 5 3 2
6. Brazil 7 6 2 1 3 8 7 1
7. Bolivia 6 7 2 0 5 8 14 -6
8. Paraguay 5 6 1 2 3 1 3 -2
9. Chile 5 7 1 2 4 3 10 -7
10. Peru 2 6 0 2 4 1 8 -7
Note: Ecuador started the qualifying round with -3 points as a penalty for the improper inclusion of Byron Castillo in the qualifiers for Qatar-2022.
— Upcoming matches:
– Eighth date, Tuesday, September 10:
In Barranquilla (20:30 GMT): Colombia-Argentina
In Santiago (21:00 GMT): Chile-Bolivia
In Quito (21:00 GMT): Ecuador-Peru
In Maturin (22:00 GMT): Venezuela-Uruguay
In Asuncion (00:30 GMT on Wednesday): Paraguay-Brazil
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