MONTEVIDEO: James Rodriguez hit the winner from the penalty spot as Colombia avenged their Copa America final defeat with a 2-1 win over Argentina in South American qualifying for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday. Colombia captain Rodriguez buried a nervy free-kick in the 60th minute to seal a pulsating win over reigning world champions Argentina, who were without injured captain Lionel Messi. It was sweet revenge for Colombia, who Argentina beat 1-0 in a bitterly disappointing Copa America final in Miami in July. The win at Barranquilla’s Metropolitano Stadium moved Colombia into second place in the 10-team South American qualifiers with 16 points from eight, just two behind leaders Argentina. Backed by a passionate home crowd, Colombia took the lead in the 25th minute when Rodriguez headed a cross to the back post where Yerson Mosquera headed. With Rodriguez running around in midfield and the diminutive Luis Diaz a threat down the flanks, Colombia had the upper hand in the opening half against a stagnant Argentina. But the visitors equalized three minutes after the break when an ill-placed pass from Rodriguez fell to Nicolas Gonzalez, who raced past Mosquera and slotted past the advancing Colombia keeper Camilo Vargas. Twelve minutes later, however, Colombia restored their lead in controversial fashion. Nicolas Otamendi probably lost Daniel Munoz face to face for good. After a few minutes, Chilean referee Piero Maza was sent to the VAR monitor and a penalty awarded. Rodriguez took on Argentine penalty specialist Emiliano Martinez and confidently sent the keeper the wrong way. Colombia striker Jhon Duran missed a great chance to make it 3-1 when he was found unmarked in the center of the box but fired straight at Martinez. Despite the defeat, Argentina remain comfortably on course for a spot at the 2026 World Cup, which is co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico. After expanding the tournament to 48 teams, the six best players from the South American qualifiers will fight for the finals. The seventh-placed team from the qualifiers advances to the inter-confederation play-offs, with the bottom three teams eliminated. In other South American games on Tuesday, Chile’s qualification hopes suffered another point blow after losing 2-1 at home to Bolivia. After winning back-to-back Copa Americas in 2015 and 2016, Chile failed to qualify for either the 2018 or 2022 World Cups. The prospect of missing out on a third consecutive tournament moved closer on Tuesday after goals from Carmelo Algaranaz and Miguel Terceros gave Bolivia a 2-1 win. The win leaves Chile ninth in the standings with just five points from eight games, while Bolivia climb to seventh. Meanwhile, Ecuador boosted their qualification hopes with a 1-0 win over Peru in Quito thanks to a strike from veteran striker Enner Valencia. Ecuador is fourth in the table with 11 points from eight games. In later matches on Tuesday, five-time world champions Brazil take on Paraguay in Asuncion, while Venezuela host Uruguay.
