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World Cup qualifying in CONMEBOL has turned things upside down with Argentina and Brazil losing qualifying matches on the same day for only the second time in history. For two national teams that are among the best in the world, losing games at all is a surprise let alone doing so at the same time. Argentina lost 2-0 to a Uruguay side that has now climbed to second in the CONMEBOL standings while Brazil lost 2-1 to Colombia behind a Luis Diaz brace. Six teams from South America will qualify directly for the World Cup with a seventh going to an intercontinental playoff.

CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying table

PlaceClubMPWDLGFGAGDPts

1

Argentina

5

4

0

1

7

2

5

12

2

Uruguay

5

3

1

1

10

5

5

10

3

Colombia

5

2

3

0

5

3

2

9

4

Venezuela

5

2

2

1

5

2

3

8

5

Brazil

5

2

1

2

8

6

2

7

6

Ecuador

5

2

2

1

4

3

1

5

7

Paraguay

5

1

2

2

1

2

-1

5

8

Chile

5

1

2

2

3

6

-3

5

9

Bolivia

5

1

0

4

4

11

-7

3

10

Peru

5

0

1

4

0

7

-7

1

Argentina falls in qualifying

Argentina are perfect no more in World Cup qualifying following a 2-0 victory by Uruagay. Third place Colombia are now the only undefeated team left. It's the first loss in World Cup qualifying for Argentina under Lionel Scaloni and also Argentia's first loss in all competitions since their shock loss to Saudi Arabia that sparked a run to a World Cup title.  

Given how Argentina responded to their last loss, it's hard to feel like it's time to push the panic button, especially as Argentina are still two points clear of Uruguay atop the table. Coached by former Argentina head coach Marcelo Bielsa, Uruguay has shown rapid improvement since his appointment in May of 2023 and are back to establishing themselves as a top South American nation. With Ronald Arujo and Darwin Nunez scoring the goals, Uruguay looks like a potent threat for the upcoming Copa America in 2024.

Luis Diaz's emotional night

Brazil has fallen to fifth with their defense increasingly becoming a concern in the early days of qualifying, and it was a brace from Diaz that downed Brazil as Colombia are now the only undefeated team in qualifying. To say that recent times have been trying for Diaz would be an understatement as his parents were kidnapped by the National Liberation Army in his native Colombia. With his father's recent release, he was able to attend the massive win over Brazil as Colombia are well on their way to improving after missing the 2022 World Cup.

Brazil also saw Vinicius Junior leave the match with an injury as they're getting thinner by the day, also missing Neymar as well. While they'll still qualify for the World Cup unless something catastrophic happens, the period of not having a permanent head coach is becoming damaging.

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What's next?

While World Cup qualifying was supposed to tell us who the third best team was in South America, is there a chance that it's actually showing the lack of depth among some of the top teams? While Argentina's defense is excellent, they're still reliant on a 36-year-old Lionel Messi and Brazil lacks punch without Neymar. Uruguay, Colombia and even Ecuador and Venezuela have taken this as an opportunity to rack up critical points while Peru and Paraguay have struggled. With the Copa America around the corner in 2024 it's quite a chance for improving United States and Mexico sides to go on a deep run while some of the top teams are vulnerable.