Central & South America

ASUNCION — A stunning bicycle kick from Antonio Sanabria and a second-half header from Omar Alderete gave Paraguay a well earned 2-1 home win over Argentina in the South American World Cup qualifiers on Thursday.

Argentina took the lead 11 minutes into the game when Enzo Fernandez's deep pass found Lautaro Martinez, whose thunderous shot was initially ruled out for offside, but was eventually awarded after a VAR review.

Ecuador international Marco Angulo has died at the age of 22, a month after suffering critical injuries in a car crash, the Ecuadorean football federation said on Tuesday.

Angulo was involved in a traffic accident on Oct. 7 that also resulted in the death of his former youth team teammate Roberto Cabezas.

Angulo sustained head injuries and a lung contusion and died at a hospital in Quito on Monday night after a week in intensive care.

Marco Angulo death

Brazilian defender Marcelo has left Fluminense by mutual consent, the Brazilian Serie A club said on Saturday.

The reasons for the 36-year-old former Real Madrid full back's departure were not disclosed.

BUENOS AIRES — Lionel Messi scored his 10th international hat-trick and had a hand in two more goals as Argentina thrashed Bolivia 6-0 in South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in front of an adoring home crowd at the Monumental Stadium on Tuesday.

Lionel Messi vs Bolivia highlights

Making only his second international appearance since recovering from an injury sustained at the Copa America in July, Messi capitalized on a mistake by defender Marcelo Suarez to open the scoring in the 19th minute.

Venezuela pulled off a fantastic result in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying with a 1-1 draw vs. Argentina on Thursday. During a pause in the game for an injury there was a small skirmish between Lionel Messi and Venezuela’s Yeferson Soteldo.

When we say “small skirmish” we’re not talking about the heights of the players as Soteldo stands at 5 feet 3 inches tall and Messi is 5 feet 7 inches.

Concacaf revealed the 2025 Gold Cup host cities and stadiums on Wednesday with 14 different venues set to host games next summer. Notably there are no host cities on the East coast as the FIFA Club World Cup, held in the United States, will be happening at the same time.

The Gold Cup runs from June 14 until the final on July 6 with 13 venues in the U.S. as well as Vancouver being one of the host cities. The majority of venues are on the West coast with a sprinkle of Texas, St. Louis and Minnesota.

2025 Gold Cup host cities

A former referee has admitted to have spared Lionel Messi from a second yellow card in return for his match-worn shirt.

Chilean refereee, Carlos Chandía, has confessed to having purposefully avoided giving Messi a booking. And all in the plan to receive the Argentine’s jersey at the end of a match.

Chandía was in charge of the 2007 Copa America semifinal match between Argentina and Mexico, with the Albiceleste blowing past El Tri with a 3-0 scoreline. 20-year-old Messi scored a beautiful lob to seal his country’s spot in the final.