That expanded field means Argentina is already well on its way to a World Cup return, but the table is tightening as Brazil continue to recover after a slow start, while Colombia and Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay are dangerous but have had hiccups and Bolivia had won three in a row to thicken the plot in the race for the final

Players from Argentina and Brazil attempted to calm a scene that Lionel Messi said “could have ended in tragedy.”

Lautaro Martinez moves level with Diego Maradona in the all-time Argentina scoring charts in a 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Peru in Buenos Aires.

For now, with six days left until the end of the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, he leads and escorts several categories. According to @messi10_rey, Messi is the top scorer in the South American qualifying process with six goals in total.