Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Brazil’s Vinicius Junior had frustrating nights in South American World Cup qualifying. While Messi could not help his team avoid a 2-1 defeat at Paraguay, Vinicius Junior missed a second-half penalty as Brazil were held to a 1-1 draw at Venezuela on Thursday.

Argentina will remain on the top of the 10-team round robin competition with 22 points in 11 matches. Brazil are provisionally in third place in the standings with 17 points.

Also, on Thursday, Ecuador beat Bolivia 4-0. The Ecuadorians remain in fifth position with 16 points, while Bolivia are in eighth place with 12 points.

The 11th round of South American World Cup qualifying will continue on Friday with second-place Colombia visiting Uruguay and the bottom two teams in the standings, Peru and Chile, facing off in Lima.

Argentina played in Paraguay with the hosts having banned local fans from wearing any Messi shirts in the home crowd. TV footage of the match in Asuncion showed that the vast majority of the local crowd was wearing Paraguay’s red and white colours, with no Messi shirts visible in the local broadcasts.

Messi had few opportunities to touch the ball during the first half, but saw Lautaro Martinez open the scoring in the 11th minute with a crossed shot. The goal was allowed after a video review.

Paraguay scored the equaliser with a bicycle kick by Antonio Sanabria in the 19th minute, shortly after defender Gustavo Gomez hit the bar with a header.

The hosts continued to apply pressure, and gave the Argentine star some heavy marking. Messi showed he was upset with Brazilian referee Anderson Daronco for not sending off Paraguay’s Omar Alderete for his aggressive tackles.

It was Alderete who scored Paraguay’s winner with a header in the 47th minute, which put Paraguay back in contention for a spot in the next World Cup.

Vinicius Junior is still without a goal in six matches of World Cup qualifying.

He had the chance to score a potential winner after he earned the penalty in the 67th minute but his low spot kick was saved by goalkeeper Rafael Romo and the Brazil forward then shot wide from the rebound.

Brazil had the best chances in the first half, with Vinicius hitting the post once after dribbling three Venezuelans and shooting from the edge of the box. But it was Raphinha who opened the scoring from a free kick in the 43rd minute.

Venezuela brought on 21-year-old Telasco Segovia at half time and the substitution had an immediate effect as he equalised in the 46th minute with a powerful shot from the edge of the box.

Venezuela went down to 10 men in the 89th minute after Alexander Gonzalez was sent off for hitting both Gabriel Martinelli and Vinicius Junior in the face.

Ecuador beat Bolivia with goals by Enner Valencia (26th minute), Gonzalo Plata (28th and 49th) and Alan Minda (61st).

Nigeria secured a ticket to participate in the Africa Cup of Nations finals (the continent’s flagship football championship) for the 21st time after a 1-1 draw with Benin Republic in Abidjan on Thursday that still put the Cheetahs’ prospects for qualification on the wire.

The game played under driving rain inside the Stade Felix Houphouet-Boigny produced a number of interesting moments, but the biggest was when Victor Osimhen celebrated wildly as his 81st minute header that sailed past goalkeeper Marcel Dandjinou not only secured Nigeria’s first place in the group, but also put him at par with the legendary Olusegun Odegbami in goals’ tally for Nigeria. Both are now joint second to the top man, Rashidi Yekini (of blessed memory) who scored 37 goals in 58 matches.

Osimhen’s goal, in which he profited from a pinpoint cross from Moses Simon, and restored parity on the night after Mohamed Tijani’s goal for the Cheetahs in the 16th minute, was his 23rd for the senior team. Odegbami, the former captain of the team who took the 1980 Africa Cup of Nations finals by the scruff, scored his 23 goals in 46 matches.

The downpour ushered the two teams into a game of two halves, with the Cheetahs keeping possession and running rings round the Super Eagles for large swathes of the first period. However, Tijani’s header from a cross by the vibrant Junior Olaitan that found the net by going through the legs of goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali, was against the run of play.

Minutes earlier, Alex Iwobi had miscued when Osimhen headed down the ball for him from Bruno Onyemaechi’s cross, and Osimhen himself was foiled by Dandjinou just before the Cheetahs struck at the other end.

Nwabali was alert to punch away as Olaitan broke loose three minutes later, and it was ding-dong until four minutes before the break, when Osimhen should have scored from a brilliant Onyemaechi cross, only to watch the ball roll away from goal after his header.

In the 55th minute, Ademola Lookman and Osimhen caused anxious moments at the Benin Republic rear, but Olaitan also got close after Captain William Ekong and Olaoluwa Aina fumbled with the ball down the line. Onyemaechi, coming forward a lot, saw his shot roll agonizingly away from goal just after the hour, and Osimhen headed wide away in the 74th minute as the Cheetahs began to nurse hopes of a win.

Osimhen had other ideas. His goal sent the Super Eagles to Morocco 2025 as group winners, and ensured the Eagles remain unbeaten in the AFCON qualification campaign going into their last game of the series, against Rwanda in Uyo on Monday.

Rwanda, with five points from their five games after an unexpected 1-0 loss to Libya in Kigali also on Thursday, must beat the Super Eagles in Uyo and hope that Libya overwhelm Benin Republic in Tripoli on Monday, to spring to second place and collect the second ticket to the finals from Group D.

“It was a tough game and I congratulate the players for a spirited display in the second half that earned us the equalizer. The downpour made the game difficult for both teams, but I am happy we have the AFCON finals ticket in the bag ahead of the final game of the series against Rwanda in Uyo on Monday,” Coach Augustine Eguavoen said.

One of Real Madrid’s youngest stars, Marc Cucalon, has been forced to retire from professional football at just 19-years-old, after he picked up a serious rare injury which will prevent him playing for Los Blancos. The midfielder announced his decision on social media on Tuesday.

Cucalon was signed Real Zaragoza when he was just 11, and was touted for big things at the Santiago Bernabeu, even drawing comparisons to Real Madrid icon and elite deep-lying playmaker Xabi Alonso. Nicknamed ‘the Xabi Alonso of La Fabrica’, his career was halted by an ACL injury which he suffered during a UEFA Youth League win against Celtic in September 2022.

Although many footballers have suffered ACL injuries and recovered from them to play at the highest level, bacteria entered Cucalon’s body while he was having surgery, which led to an infection. That has subsequently led to it damaging the cartilage in his knee.

Cucalon Announces Retirement
Tributes poured in for the talented youngster

The 19-year-old underwent numerous treatments to try and help him get back on the pitch, but they had little effect on him. With Cucalon still struggling to play the game, he’s been advised to hang up his boots.

Writing on social media, he said: “I arrived at Real Madrid in the summer of 2016 as a kid with a backpack full of dreams and I was very, very happy. And the truth [is] that my life changed completely on 6 September 2022, when I was seriously injured. After several complications, that injury has forced me to make the tough decision to say goodbye to football, at least in the way I had always dreamed of.

“For these past two years I have struggled physically and mentally with all my might and I have tried everything in my power to enjoy this sport again, but it has not been possible to recover from it.

“Don’t get me wrong: this is not a sad farewell at all. After all, I think I have been truly privileged to have been part of the best club in the world and to have lived a dream. I’ve learned and matured as a person and as a player.

“I carry with me for the rest of my life the values that have been instilled in me and, of course, football has taught me in every triumph and in every defeat: you always have to overcome and keep fighting to overcome obstacles. Those lessons will be part of my life forever.”

Alvaro Arbeloa, who coached Cucalon at Real Madrid’s academy, then posted a touching message to the youngster. He said: “You don’t know how many times this game comes to mind. It’s hard for me not to think about the huge player you were going to be (and already were), but you always have to look to the future. You know it better than anyone, you deserve the best, Marc, we will always be there for whatever you need.”