World Cup qualifying: Argentina maintain 100 per cent start as Lionel Messi comes off bench, Brazil draw with Venezuela

Argentina maintained their 100 per cent record in World Cup qualifying, and stayed top of the group with a 1-0 win over Paraguay in Buenos Aires.

Nicolas Otamendi's third-minute goal proved to be the difference, as the defender brilliantly fired home from Rodrigo De Paul's corner to extend the Albiceleste's unbeaten run to 13 games in all competitions.

Despite their dominance, the world champions could not get a second goal after further chances from De Paul, Lautaro Martinez and Julian Alvarez.

Paraguay rallied after the break, but boss Lionel Scaloni looked to reassert Argentina's dominance on the clash after introducing Lionel Messi in the second half.

Although, the seven-time Ballon d'Or winner came within inches of adding his name to the scoresheet from a corner that clipped the top of the crossbar.

The visitors did have chances to score a seemingly unlikely equaliser, but defeat for Daniel Garnero's side sees them drop down to eighth in the table.

Meanwhile, there was frustration for Brazil as Eduard Bello scored a dramatic late equaliser for Venezuela in Cuiaba.

It was a lacklustre performance from the Selecao, with Neymar's long-range effort their only chance of note in the opening exchanges.

After a dismal first half, the frustration around the ground in Cuiaba was initially lifted when Arsenal defender Gabriel powered home a header from Neymar's corner.

But the five-time World Cup winners could not add to their advantage, with Real Madrid's Rodrygo coming closest to adding a second when his strike clipped the post before going wide.

It was a bitterly disappointing result for Fernando Diniz's side, but a landmark one for Venezuela, who ended a chastening run of 10 away World Cup qualifying defeats with this result.

Former Everton man James Rodriguez and Liverpool's Darwin Nunez were on target for Colombia and Uruguay respectively as the two sides shared the spoils in a 2-2 draw.

Rodriguez broke the deadlock with a wonderful strike in the 35th minute, before Mathias Olivera levelled the scores with a header two minutes into the second half.

Matheus Uribe reclaimed the lead for the hosts, but they were subsequently reduced to 10 men when Camilo Vargas was shown a second yellow card for a challenge on Nunez.

The Reds forward fired in the resulting penalty, with the draw leaving Colombia and Uruguay in third and fourth in the group.

Elsewhere, a goal from Diego Valdés Contreras and Marcos Lopez's own goal gave Chile a 2-0 win over Peru, while Bolivia were beaten 2-1 at home by Ecuador.

Kendry Paez and Kevin Rodriguez were on target for the visitors, with the latter scoring a stoppage-time winner after Rodrigo Ramallo had initially cancelled out Paez's opener.

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