In Thursday’s World Cup qualifiers, Luis Diaz scored twice to propel Colombia to an emotional 2-1 victory against Brazil, and Uruguay snapped Argentina’s 14-match unbeaten record with a 2-0 win over the world champions.
Darwin Nunez of Liverpool scored a goal in the 87th minute on the counterattack to end a closely contested match at the Bombonera Stadium in Buenos Aires, after defender Ronald Araujo put Uruguay ahead on 41 minutes.
Argentina, led by Lionel Messi, suffered their first setback of the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign. This loss came after their shocking 2-1 loss to Saudi Arabia in the 2022 finals in Qatar.
Argentina is still in first place with 12 points after five matches; they won their first four qualifiers. They are now in second place with 10 points after Uruguay’s victory.
On Thursday, in another South American qualifier, Diaz—a teammate of Nunez’s at Liverpool—scored twice in the first five minutes to help Colombia rally from behind and defeat Brazil 2-1 in Barranquilla.
The striker Diaz had a wild October, culminating in a dramatic double, when his father was missed by Colombian guerrillas at the month’s close and released last week.
As his son scored twice in the 75th and 79th minutes to propel Colombia to a pivotal victory, Luis Manuel Diaz watched from the stands, his eyes welling up with tears.
After Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal scored for Brazil in the opening minute, Diaz scored twice in the second half to level the score.
After 27 minutes, Real Madrid star Vinicius Jr. hobbled off the field holding his left thigh, adding insult to injury for Brazil and their sad loss.
Additional results from other games include a scoreless tie between Ecuador and Venezuela and a 2-0 home victory for Bolivia over Peru, which lifted them out of last place in the 10-team rankings.
Participation in the expanded 2026 World Cup in the US, Canada, and Mexico is contingent upon finishing in the top six of the round-robin home-and-away qualifying competition; the seventh-placed team will be subject to a play-off.
