Lionel Messi's Argentina faced a surprising 1-2 defeat to Paraguay in the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers on Thursday, November 14, at the Estadio Defensores del Chaco in Asunción, Paraguay. Despite an early lead, Argentina could not maintain their advantage and were ultimately outplayed by a resilient Paraguay side.
The match began on a positive note for Argentina, as Lautaro Martinez opened the scoring in the 11th minute. Enzo Fernandez played a perfectly lofted pass to Martinez, who initially appeared to have scored, only for the referee to flag him offside. However, after a review, the offside call was overturned, and Martinez’s goal stood, giving Argentina a 1-0 lead. But Paraguay responded with a stunning equalizer in the 19th minute. Antonio Sanabria unleashed a spectacular bicycle kick from a Gustavo Velázquez cross, sending the ball past Argentina's goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez and drawing Paraguay level in dramatic fashion.
Just two minutes after the second-half kickoff, Paraguay took the lead through Omar Alderete. The defender rose to meet a cross from Diego Gomez, Messi's Inter Miami teammate, and headed the ball home to give Paraguay a 2-1 advantage. Argentina struggled to break down Paraguay’s defense after that, with Messi largely neutralized throughout the match. Though Messi did manage to provide a cross for substitute Valentín Castellanos, the striker’s header went high over the bar.
Despite Argentina's lack of creativity in attack, they remained top of the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifier standings with 22 points, ahead of the upcoming games. Paraguay’s victory, however, saw them move into the sixth position, securing a spot for automatic qualification to the World Cup.
In other qualifying action, Brazil, currently sitting in third place, were held to a 1-1 draw against Venezuela at the Monumental Stadium in Monagas, Venezuela. Vinicius Junior missed a penalty for Brazil, which proved costly. Raphinha had earlier put Brazil ahead with a superb free-kick, but Venezuela responded in the second half through a goal from Telasco Segovia, earning them a crucial point. Brazil’s struggle to convert opportunities and settle for a draw left them in third, still in a strong position but unable to close the gap on the top two teams.
While Argentina remains in the lead, their defeat to Paraguay is a reminder of the unpredictable nature of the qualifiers, with the competition for automatic World Cup spots heating up in the final stages.
