Messi, Vinicius have frustrating nights as Argentina loses and Brazil draws in World Cup qualifying

Messi and Vinicius struggle in South American World Cup qualifiers as Argentina leads standings with 22 points.

Argentina's Lionel Messi and Brazil's Vinicius Júnior had frustrating nights in South American World Cup qualifying.

While Messi could not help his team avoid a 2-1 defeat at Paraguay, Vinicius Junior missed a second-half penalty as Brazil was held to a 1-1 draw at Venezuela on Thursday (November 14, 2024).

Argentina will remain on the top of the 10-team round-robin competition with 22 points in 11 matches, Brazil is provisionally in third place in the standings with 17 points.

Also on Thursday, Ecuador beat Bolivia 4-0. The Ecuadorians remain in fifth position with 16 points, while Bolivia is in eighth place with 12 points.

The 11th round of South American World Cup qualifying will continue on Friday with second-place Colombia visiting Uruguay and the bottom two teams in the standings, Peru and Chile, facing off in Lima.

Argentina played at Paraguay with the hosts having banned local fans from wearing any Messi shirts in the home crowd. TV footage of the match in Asuncion showed that the vast majority of the local crowd was wearing Paraguay’s red and white colors, with no Messi shirts visible in the local broadcasts.

Messi had few opportunities to touch the ball during the first half, but saw Lautaro Martínez open the scoring in the 11th minute with a crossed shot. The goal was allowed after a video review.