World Cup 2026 qualifying: Brazil denied by Venezuela overhead kick
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Eduard Bello's strike boosts Venezuela's chances of qualifying for the World Cup for the first time ever
Eduard Bello scored an overhead kick as Venezuela earned a 1-1 draw in Brazil in their 2026 World Cup qualifier.
Arsenal defender Gabriel Magalhaes headed Brazil ahead from Neymar's corner shortly after half-time, before Real Madrid forward Vinicius Jr had a goal disallowed for offside.
Bello made them pay when he netted spectacularly with five minutes to go.
Brazil fall to second in South American qualifying after three games, behind Argentina who have a 100% record.
Argentina earned their third win from three games in Conmebol qualifying with a 1-0 victory over Paraguay thanks to a brilliant goal from former Manchester City defender Nicolas Otamendi.
The 35-year-old scored his fifth goal in 106 international appearances just three minutes into the match in Buenos Aires, via an acrobatic back-post volley from a corner.
Lionel Messi, who has been struggling with a muscle problem in recent weeks, came on as a 53rd-minute substitute for the 2022 World Cup winners and struck the frame of the goal from a corner and from a free-kick late on.
Lionel Messi: Argentina forward hits woodwork twice in win against Paraguay
Uruguay, who host Brazil in Montevideo in their next fixture on 17 October, earned a 2-2 draw away to Colombia thanks to a late Darwin Nunez penalty.
The Uruguayans, now managed by former Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa, trailed to James Rodriguez's 35th-minute strike but equalised through Mathias Olivera shortly after the interval.
Mateus Uribe restored the Colombian lead, but in the 87th minute their goalkeeper Camilo Vargas was sent off for fouling Maxi Araujo in the box, with Liverpool striker Nunez netting the penalty to earn a point.
Chile beat Peru 2-0 while Ecuador won 2-1 in Bolivia, helped by a goal from Kendry Paez, who became the youngest player to score in a Conmebol qualifier.
The 16-year-old, who has agreed a deal to join Chelsea in 2025, raced clear of the Bolivia defence before coolly finishing left-footed shortly before half-time to open the scoring.
Rodrigo Ramallo equalised for the hosts in La Paz; however, Kevin Rodriguez netted a stoppage-time winner to earn Ecuador their second victory in qualifying.
All 10 teams in the Conmebol confederation play each other twice in qualifying, with the top six sides in the table reaching the 2026 World Cup in Canada, USA and Mexico. The seventh-place finisher goes into an inter-confederation play-off.