The 11th round of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America saw two "giants" here receive disappointing results when both played away. The Argentine team, on the day Messi was silent, lost 1-2 to Paraguay, while the Brazilian team only drew 1-1 with Venezuela.
Messi was closely marked throughout the match.
Coach Scaloni deployed an attacking lineup with the intention of creating an early advantage to win convincingly against Paraguay. This intention was soon successful with the opening goal 1-0 in the 11th minute by striker Lautaro Martinez from a beautiful assist by Enzo Fernandez.
However, the home team Paraguay then really got into the game. They locked down the famous player Messi, separating the satellites around him like Mac Allister and Alvarez. From there, it also made striker Lautaro Martinez become lost in the front line despite scoring early in the match.
Messi was always surrounded by Paraguayan defenders.
In the 19th minute, Paraguay's impressive play was confirmed by the equalizer 1-1 scored by striker Antonio Sanabria after a bicycle kick that left goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez helpless.
Paraguay shocked Argentina even more when, at the beginning of the second half, in the first extremely fast attack, they quickly took the lead with a score of 2-1 thanks to defender Omar Alderete joining the attack and heading the goal from a pass by Diego Gomez. Diego Gomez is also Messi's teammate at Inter Miami.
Things got tough for Argentina as Messi was constantly being marked and fouled. Scaloni was forced to make changes in attack to create a breakthrough. Alejandro Garnacho, Leandro Paredes and Gonzalo Montiel were brought in to replace Molina, Mac Allister and Enzo Fernandez.
Lautaro Martinez's goal was a rare bright spot for the Argentina team.
However, the Argentine team could not break the deadlock and had to accept a painful defeat away to Paraguay with a score of 1-2.
This is the third loss since the start of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America for Albiceleste. However, they still maintain the top position in the group with 22 points after 11 matches. Colombia (19 points) has a chance to equalize this score if they beat Uruguay at 7:00 a.m. on November 16. Meanwhile, Paraguay maintains the 6th position with an official ticket to the 2026 World Cup finals with 16 points after 11 matches.
Vinicius missed the penalty
In a day of poor performance, striker Vinicius, the current number 1 hope of the Brazilian team, missed a golden opportunity to score from the 11m mark, causing the Selecao to only draw 1-1 against Venezuela on away field.
Vinicius missed the penalty
Previously, midfielder Raphinha, on his first day wearing Neymar's number 10 shirt, made his mark with a stunning 1-0 opening goal from a classy free kick in the 43rd minute. However, at the beginning of the second half, the Brazilian team let Venezuela unexpectedly equalize the score 1-1 thanks to Telasco Segovia's powerful long-range shot that left goalkeeper Ederson helpless.
Coach Dorival Junior's team struggled against the high-intensity play of the hosts Venezuela, which prevented them from dominating the game or making their usual breakthroughs. In a tight match, Vinicius made the difference with his dribbling and speed. Thanks to that, he earned a penalty in the 60th minute that could have changed the game.
However, on the 11m mark Vinicius failed to take the penalty when he was pushed away by goalkeeper Rafael Romo, before rushing in to shoot in a favorable position but also sent the ball wide of the post.
Raphinha made his mark with the opening goal 1-0
Missing a good chance, Vinicius also left a bad image when he often got into arguments with the referee and the opposing players. At the end of the match, Vinicius himself caused Venezuelan player Alexander Gonzalez to receive a red card after a cold-blooded tackle. The advantage of having more players in the remaining minutes could not help the Brazilian team find victory and had to be satisfied to leave with 1 point.
Regardless, this result also helps the Brazilian team consolidate its position at the top of the 2026 World Cup qualifying rankings in South America, temporarily rising to 3rd place with 17 points after 11 matches, above Uruguay (16 points) before meeting Colombia (19 points) at 7:00 a.m. on November 16.
Source: https://thanhnien.vn/messi-im-tieng-khien-argentina-thua-dau-paraguay-brazil-cay-dang-mat-2-diem-vi-vinicius-185241115084255405.htm
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