Argentina moves closer to World Cup spot as Chile stays alive

RIO DE JANEIRO, Nov. 19 (Xinhua) -- Argentina edged toward a place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup while Chile kept its faint hopes alive in South American qualifiers on Tuesday.

In Buenos Aires, a stunning second-half volley from Inter Milan striker Lautaro Martinez handed Argentina a 1-0 home victory over Peru.

Martinez broke the deadlock in the 55th minute when he latched onto Lionel Messi's cross with a spectacular bicycle kick that flew into the top-right corner.

The reigning world champions controlled the match thereafter to ease to their eighth win of the qualifying campaign.

Argentina leads the 10-team South American group with 25 points from 12 outings while Peru is last with seven points so far.

"It makes me happy to know that we've finished the year on a positive note and as leaders," Martinez said after the match.

"It's been a great year personally but I want to keep working hard to improve every day," the 27-year-old added.

Meanwhile, Lucas Cepeda scored two goals and set up another as Chile clinched just its second win of these qualifiers by recovering from a goal down to beat Venezuela 4-2 in Santiago.

Jefferson Savarino opened the scoring for the visitors before Eduardo Vargas struck his 43rd international goal with a low finish after Cepeda's cross.

Ruben Ramirez restored Venezuela's lead with a long-range effort but the Roja equalized when Gabriel Suazo's powerful shot deflected in off Tomas Rincon's right boot.

Vargas and Cepeda again combined as the former provided the final pass for the Colo-Colo forward to rifle home his team's third goal. The 22-year-old then completed the rout with a low drive into the bottom-right corner from distance.

Chile remains ninth in the group with nine points, three points behind eighth-placed Venezuela and four points shy of seventh-placed Bolivia.

The top six teams will automatically qualify for football's showpiece tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada while the seventh-ranked side will advance to an intercontinental playoff.

"We were suffering a lot and we needed this result to lift the spirits of the country, ourselves and our families," Cepeda said afterwards.

"Our fans need to believe in us because we are going to give everything we've got to take Chile to the World Cup."

Elsewhere, Gerson and Federico Valverde scored second-half goals as Uruguay held Brazil to a 1-1 home draw.

Real Madrid midfielder Valverde gave the visitors the lead with an unstoppable long-range effort just before the hour. The hosts equalized seven minutes later when Gerson used the outside of his left foot to smash home a first-time volley form 12 yards.

Brazil had more than 60 percent of possession and completed over 200 more passes than the Celeste but the five-time world champions paid the price for a lack of incisiveness in attack.

Dorival Junior's men dropped to fifth in the group with 18 points, two points behind second-placed Uruguay.

A brilliant solo goal from Enner Valencia fired 10-man Ecuador to a 1-0 away win over Colombia.

Valencia took possession near the halfway line after an errant Richard Rios backpass before dribbling past three defenders and firing a low shot into the far corner.

The visitors were reduced to 10 men just after the half hour when Piero Hincapie was deemed to have denied Jhon Cordoba a clear scoring opportunity with a foul on the edge of the penalty area.

Colombia controlled 67% of possession and had 25 attempts on goal but failed to find a way past Ecuador goalkeeper Hernan Galindez.

The result in Barranquilla marked Colombia's first home defeat since January 2022 when the Cafeteros suffered a 1-0 loss to Peru. It was also the first time in this qualifying campaign that Nestor Lorenzo's men have lost two consecutive matches.

Earlier on Tuesday, Brighton forward Julio Enciso scored one goal and set up another as Paraguay earned a 2-2 away draw with Bolivia.

Ervin Vaca poked home from close range after Ramiro Vaca's perfectly weighted pass but Miguel Almiron equalized when he received Enciso's pass before slotting a 12-yard shot into the bottom-right corner.

Miguel Terceros restored the hosts' the lead from the penalty spot before Enciso put his side on level terms with a dipping 30-yard drive.

"Bolivia are very strong at home but today we showed what we are made of," Enciso told reporters after the match.

"We left everything on the pitch today and to get a point here is a great achievement," he added, alluding to the difficulty of playing at more than 4,000 meters above sea level.

The result leaves Paraguay with 17 points from 12 games, four points ahead of Bolivia. ■