James Rodriguez helped Colombia secure a 2-1 win against Argentina in a South American qualifier for the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday. Rodriguez scored the winning goal from the penalty spot in the 60th minute, taking Colombia to second place in the qualifiers with 16 points from eight games. Argentina remain at the top with 18 points.
The penalty came after a VAR review, with Chilean referee Piero Maza awarding it following a challenge by Nicolas Otamendi on Daniel Munoz. Rodriguez’s successful penalty kick avenged Colombia’s 0-1 defeat to Argentina in the Copa America final.
Colombia scored first in the 25th minute with a header by Yerson Mosquera, assisted by a cross from Rodriguez. Despite an equalizing goal by Argentina in the 48th minute, Colombia regained the lead through Rodriguez’s penalty. A missed opportunity by Jhon Duran in the closing stages prevented Colombia from extending their lead further.
Argentina, despite the loss, are still in a good position to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. The top six teams from South America will directly qualify, while the seventh team will go into an inter-confederation playoff.
In other matches, Chile faced setbacks with a 2-1 loss to Bolivia, pushing them to ninth place. Ecuador moved to fourth place after a 1-0 victory over Peru, thanks to a goal from Enner Valencia. Additional matches later on Tuesday included Brazil versus Paraguay and Venezuela against Uruguay.
