Colombia 2-1 Argentina
Colombia got a measure of revenge against Argentina at home, as they beat them 2-1 in their latest matchup in the ongoing World Cup 2026 CONMEBOL qualifiers on Tuesday night.
Centre-back Yerson Mosquera opened the scoring for Los Cafeteros, but Nicolas Gonzalez drew level for La Albiceleste. However, Colombia got back out front through James Rodriguez, and they never conceded another goal for the win.
This is a huge bounce back performance for Colombia after they had to settle for a 1-1 draw against an inferior Peru squad last time out.
With the victory, Colombia not only solidified their hold of the second seed, but they also drew closer to the top-seeded Argentina, with the former having 16 points and the latter having 18.
Just in case you missed it, don’t worry, as SBOTOP has you covered with the latest World Cup 2026 highlights.
Highlights of the game
Argentina boss Lionel Scaloni made a huge formation change against Colombia. He went back to his usual 4-4-2 formation after deploying a 3-5-2 formation in their 3-0 rout against Chile on Friday. Nahuel Molina was relegated to the bench in favour of Gonzalo Montiel.
Colombia’s Nestor Lorenzo, on the other hand, stuck to his 4-3-3 formation, and the only change he made was replacing Carlos Cuesta with Yerson Mosquera in the starting XI.
La Albiceleste had the first chance of the day when Julian Alvarez stole the ball off Camilo Vargas just outside the box. The Atletico Madrid striker tried to roll the ball into the empty net from a tight angle but missed.
Alvarez almost recorded an assist when he laid the ball to Rodrigo De Paul at the edge of the box in the 18th minute, but the Atletico Madrid midfielder fired the shot over the crossbar.
While Argentina controlled the early proceedings, Colombia slowly made their way back to the game, and they broke the deadlock in the 25th minute.
After a short corner, James Rodriguez lobbed the ball into the box, and Yerson Mosquera came flying in to head the ball home for his first international goal.
Lisandro Martinez tried a swivel shot off a corner, but Mosquera blocked it. Lautaro Martinez fired another close-range attempt in the next corner, but the ball went wide just before the end of the first half.
Argentina scored the equaliser three minutes into the second half, as Nicolas Gonzalez scored a cool finish after some sloppy passing by Colombia in midfield.
Daniel Munoz was brought down inside the box in the 53rd minute, and the Colombian full-back pleaded his case to the referees when they didn’t make a call.
After further review, the referees awarded Los Cafeteros the penalty, and James Rodriguez slotted the ball in to reclaim the lead for Colombia.
Argentina’s last chance came in the 84th minute. Lautaro Martinez found himself in a one-on-one situation, but Mosquera and Vargas came over and smothered the Inter Milan star’s last-ditch attempt.
Key statistics
Colombia finally secured their first win over Argentina since 2019, and they are still undefeated in the CONMEBOL qualifiers.
Before this contest, Argentina were on a 12-game winning streak across all competitions, and they just won their second consecutive Copa America championship last July at the expense of Colombia.
Argentina were particularly wasteful in the final third, as they only had one shot on target despite having 13 total shots (compared to five shots on target in nine total shots for Colombia). La Albiceleste also had slightly more possession than Los Cafeteros (53-per cent to 47-per cent).
James Rodriguez’s penalty puts him level to Radamel Falcao’s mark of 13 goals in World Cup qualifying, and his assist to Yerson Mosquera’s opener has equalised Carlos Valderrama’s record of 11 assists in World Cup qualifying.
Speaking of Mosquera, the Wolves defender now has one goal in four caps for Colombia, which is impressive for a 23-year-old.
On the other hand, Nicolas Gonzalez now has six goals in 41 caps for Argentina, while Enzo Fernandez has reached the 30-cap mark.
What’s next?
Colombia will resume their World Cup 2026 journey in October against Bolivia and Chile. Argentina’s next opponents are Venezuela and Bolivia.
For Argentina, they’re hopeful to have Lionel Messi back in the lineup since they sorely missed his presence last night against Colombia.
Both of these teams are in a position to book their tickets to the United States fast, according to the updated World Cup 2026 odds. However, they cannot afford to be complacent since there are 10 more matchdays remaining.
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