Messi's goal and Colombia's tough victory: the results of the World Cup qualifiers in South America

On September 8, three matches of the first round of the qualifying round for the 2026 World Cup took place in South America.

Paraguay hosted Peru at home and the meeting ended with the score 0:0. It is noteworthy that the guests played the entire second half in the minority. Despite this, they were able to survive the most important draw and win the first point. In general, the home team had the game initiative and should have won, but the heroic Peruvians did not allow this.

After the first round, the teams settled on the third and fourth places in the standings.

In another match, Colombia hosted Venezuela at home. The meeting ended with a minimal victory for the hosts with a score of 1:0. The only goal of the match was scored by Rafael Borre. After the victory, the Colombians climbed to second place in the standings.

In the final meeting of the game day, the reigning world champions, the Argentines hosted Ecuador and won with a score of 1:0. 12 minutes before the end of the meeting, the only goal was scored by Lionel Messi. The Argentines are currently leading the table.