Lionel Messi's absence did no harm to Argentina as they outclassed Bolivia 3-0 in the ongoing 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers (Conmebol). Enzo Fernandez (31'), Nicolas Tagliafico (42') and Nicolas Gonzalez (83') scored for the current world champions as Argentina eased to a convincing victory.
Argentina made full use of the red card that was handed to Bolivia's Roberto Fernandez in the 39th minute as they scored two goals after that. Earlier, Messi got a much-deserved break after he was neither included in the starting XI nor made a part of the active roster by the team.
In another game, Ecuador beat Uruguay 2-1 on the back of an impressive performance from Felix Torres. Uruguay began the game in an exciting manner and took the lead initially. Agustin Canobbio scored for Uruguay in the 38th minute and helped them get their noses in front in an important clash. But Torres led Ecuador's attack and scored soon (45+5') to land the equaliser.
After the game restarted in the second half Torres wasted no time and scored in the 61st minute to get what turned out to be the decisive lead in the end.
Round one offered yet another exciting clash that saw Brazil register a 1-0 win over Peru. To everyone's surprise, Peru managed to keep the Brazilian attackers quiet for the most part of the play but a 90th-minute goal from Marquinhos helped the former world champions get a win.
Brazil with six points are second on the points table with two wins in two games. On the other hand, Argentina are second on the table with a slightly inferior goal difference as compared to Brazil. Colombia are placed third and Uruguay are in the fourth spot. Venezuela are fifth with three points in their kitty.
