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Lionel Messi scored two goals as Argentina extended their perfect start to South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday with a 2-0 victory over Peru. Messi extended his international goal tally to 106 with strikes in the 32nd and 42nd minutes. Argentina are top of the table with 12 points in 4 games while Brazil, Venezuela, and Uruguay all are 5 points behind of them. More importantly, Emi Martinez successfully kept another clean sheet.
Messi showed no sign of the injuries and played like himself. The 36-year-old scored the first goal just after the half-hour mark, and then added a second one 10 minutes later which was enough to get the better off Peru.
While Argentina continued their serene progress through qualifying, arch-rivals Brazil suffered a nightmare 2-0 defeat, losing for the first time against Uruguay in 22 years. Neymar was stretchered off just before half-time with what appeared to be a knee injury.
Darwin Nunez scored a bullet header on 42 minutes to open the scoring in the first half at the Estadio Centenario. The Liverpool striker then played a pivotal role in Uruguay's second, holding up the ball well from a throw-in and cutting back for Nicolas de la Cruz to fire past Brazil goalkeeper Ederson on 77 minutes, confirming a 2-0 victory. The win was Uruguay's first over Brazil in a World Cup qualifying fixture since a 1-0 victory over the Selecao in Montevideo in July 2001.
Another disappointing result for five-time world champions Brazil, who were held to a 1-1 draw by Venezuela last week. Brazilian team officials said Neymar would undergo examinations in Sao Paulo on Wednesday.
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