Argentina beat Peru to close in on World Cup spot
Lautaro Martinez’s goal gave Argentina a 1-0 win over Peru in a South American qualifying match and left the hosts close to a spot in the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Mexico and Canada.
Martinez’s goal was his 32nd for the national team, which puts him level with the legendary Diego Maradona.
Their main continental rivals Brazil drew 1-1 against Uruguay in Salvador, Brazil, with two impressive goals in an otherwise lacklustre match. Federico Valverde gave Uruguay the lead with a curled shot from the edge of the box, and Gerson netted his first for Brazil in similar fashion at the Arena Fonte Nova.
Argentina lead South American qualifying with 25 points from 12 matches, five points clear of their closest competitor, Uruguay. Ecuador and Colombia are next with 19 points each.
Brazil lag in fifth position with 18 points after several uninspiring performances, still hoping that striker Neymar will return from injury and fit in again. Paraguay, with 17 points, are in sixth place.
South American qualifying will give six direct berths in the next World Cup. Seventh-place Bolivia, with 13 points, are in the international playoff position. Venezuela (12), Chile (9) and Peru (7) are out of qualifying spots.
The next round of South American World Cup qualifying will be played in March.
Gyokeres overtakes Haaland
Stockholm: Sweden forward Viktor Gyokeres netted four goals in a 6-0 rout of Azerbaijan to overtake Erling Haaland as the top scorer in the Nations League.
Gyokeres started the evening with five goals from five Nations League games. His third goal of the night in the 58th minute — scored only a few seconds after the game restarted following another Swedish goal — took the Sporting Lisbon forward to eight goals in six games in this edition of the Nations League, one more than Haaland. Gyokeres — one of the most in-demand players this season — didn’t stop there and added his fourth goal of the game soon after. Haaland had been the top scorer ahead of the final evening of games.
