Lionel Messi on Thursday hit a post twice after he came off the bench, but struggled to deliver a strong performance following his return from injury. Still, Argentina beat Paraguay 1-0 in their South American World Cup qualifying match.
Argentina’s biggest South American rivals left the pitch to some jeers at Cuiaba, Brazil, after the hosts and Venezuela drew 1-1. The result put pressure on new Brazil coach Fernando Diniz and kept Argentina as the sole leaders of the round-robin competition with their third victory in three matches.
The only goal of the match at the Monumental de Nunez Stadium came in the third minute after a corner that found Nicolas Otamendi free in the penalty area. The defender smashed the ball into the net with a left-foot volley.
Photo: AP
Messi has felt muscular pains in his right leg that has sidelined him for several matches at his club Inter Miami. Coach Lionel Scaloni picked Nico Gonzalez as his replacement. The star substituted Julian Alvarez in the 52nd minute, when Argentina were already in the lead.
Messi hit the post from a corner he took 10 minutes after stepping on the pitch, but his other efforts to dribble and give deep passes fell flat.
A free-kick from the same spot where he scored the winner against Ecuador last month raised hopes for Argentina fans shortly before the final whistle, but Messi’s shot hit the right post.
“I get very calm when we have Leo on the pitch,” Argentina midfielder Rodrigo de Paul said. “We are at a very good level. We feel comfortable with the way we are playing.”
For the first time, Brazil failed to beat Venezuela at home. Neymar, Vinicius Junior and Richarlison struggled the entire first half to get a clear shot on goal.
Seconds after Neymar got his first big opportunity after the break, with a shot from the edge of the penalty area, Brazil scored with an assist from the al-Hilal player.
Neymar took a corner that ended in a close-range header by Gabriel Magalhaes in the 52nd minute at the Arena Pantanal.
Venezuela scored in the 85th minute with a half bicycle-kick by Eduardo Bello, in one of the most impressive goals of South American World Cup qualifying so far.
Venezuela’s defense managed to keep Brazil at bay until the final whistle.
“Now we have to hold our heads up high and think about Uruguay. We wanted to go at them, they wanted to defend and we couldn’t break them like we wanted,” Brazil captain Casemiro said.
Elsewhere on Thursday, Colombia and Uruguay drew 2-2. Ecuador beat Bolivia 2-1 in La Paz with a goal in the final moments of the match and Chile beat Peru 2-0.
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