Argentina - Uruguay, summary: Darwin Núñez, score, goals & highlights | CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers
Argentina - Uruguay: as it happened
Full-time thoughts:
What a night for Uruguay at La Bombonera, who inflicted Argentina's first defeat since the 2022 World Cup.
Bielsa's side pressed Argentina so much I think they might end up round De Paul's house tonight while he's sleeping in bed.
There was no room for the world champions to breathe, and they went behind in the first half after Molina got a fistful of Bielsa pressure from Viña. The full-back crushed him like sesame seed under the foot of an elephant, squeezing him against his own corner flag before robbing the ball and playing to Ronald Araujo who smashed home from close range.
The game plan went superbly well for Uruguay, who did not stop running and surrounding every Argentina player at once, all across the pitch for 95 minutes.
Changes were made in the second half by Scaloni and the home side, who were roared on all game by the jubilant fans, pushed for an equaliser.
But it was Uruguay who would strike again, using the space in behind to take advantage for the second time. Darwin Núñez broke free, raced away from his man and slid the ball under Dibu Martínez to seal the deal and guarantee an historic win for the Uruguayans.
That's all, folks!
That's all from myself tonight. Thanks for joining in with the coverage of what was a fantastic game!
Joe
How the table looks:
Argentina are still top but a shock loss by Brazil to Colombia, in which Vini Jr went off injured, has certainly shaken things up in the table!
Uruguay sit second, just two points off the world champions!
| T | MP | W | D | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 5 | 4 | 0 | 1 |
| 2 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | 9 | 5 | 2 | 3 | 0 |
| 4 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 5 | 7 | 5 | 2 | 1 | 2 |
What this win means for Uruguay:
It's first time they have beaten Argentina away from home in 36 years and they broke a 25-game unbeaten streak from the world champions. Woof.
Cargando...
FULL TIME!!!
WHAT A WIN FOR URUGUAY!!!
Into the final seconds.
Ugarte fights for the ball while sitting on the floor, all for a good 15 seconds. He ends up winning it before clearing way from his defensive third. It smacks Acuña in the face and lands at the feet of a Uruguay shirt.
One of those days.
Despite the scoreline, Uruguay are still pressing like it's actually their side who are looking for a way into the game. Bielsa football at its finest, Argentina are being strangled 92 minutes in.
5 added minutes.
Viñas ON
Darwin OFF
We're into the final minute and unless a sensational comeback awaits, this will be a historic win for Uruguay!
Back underway...
Argentina have every player in blue back defending before turning the ball over. De La Cruz plays a simple ball through the middle towards Darwin, who gets in behind, makes his way towards goal and slides under Dibu from inside the box!
DARWIN NÚÑEZ
GGGGGOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
URUGUAY DOUBLE THE LEAD
Every player is in the Argentina attacking third as the home side pass the ball from left to right, looking for a way in.
Argentina have upped their pressure now and are forcing Uruguay further back as the clock ticks on.
Lautaro's front post header is well saved by the Uruguay goalkeeper!
SAVE FROM ROCHET
Less than ten minutes of normal time to go and every single fan in the stadium is on their feet as Argentina win a corner.
The winger gets the ball near the halfway line and races down the wing, twisting and turning before firing a right-footed effort just past the far post.
DI MARÍA FIRES WIDE
Acuña races onto the pitch and is immediately caught offside.
Lo Celso & Acuña ON
Tagliafico & Álvarez OFF
Olivera is booked for a bear hug on Messi.
Scaloni is preparing changes for his side.
COME ON, DARWIN! shouts Bielsa from the sideline. The poor guy has run a marathon so far, but Bielsa wants more.
A nice save from Rochet who dives out of his goal to punch away a cross from Di María which is as close as Argentina have got since Messi hit the crossbar from the free-kick, which already feels like last year.
Fede Valverde has been sensational, especially in the second half. He's been everywhere and has led the team both on and off the ball.
Uruguay look so comfortable defending the Argentina possession: they have closed off all lines to Messi and are piling the pressure on their centre-backs at every opportunity.
Fifteen to go...
A nice move from Argen.... oh, no, it's cut out again by Uruguay.
Pellistri, a real menace today, is brought down by De Paul in a foul made in pure frustration.
Pellistri, from halfway, sends a speculative pass diagonally from the right side towards the far post, where Darwin had weaved in behind the centre-back.
Unfortunately for him, the ball was slightly too far away from his outstretched leg and Argentina get away with another one.
Twenty minutes to go. Argentina are struggling to hold the ball as the crowd up the noise levels inside the ground.
Josema Giménez is booked for a questionable foul that looks very weak to me. Lautaro is booked seconds later as the referee appears to remember he has the ability to do so. Remember those fights in the first half? Zero bookings.
The play in the middle third is stunning from Bielsa's side. They are pinging the ball around in such tight spaces and Argentina simply don't know what to do when they get up to full speed.
Darwin almost breaks down the right but Cuti Romero does well to scamper across and rob the ball from the Liverpool forward. Unfortunately it spins away and Uruguay win a corner.
Palacios ON
De Paul OFF
We're back underway...
Bentancur ON
Araújo OFF
The winger was having a fantastic game and goes off in a state of incredible pain. It looks like he's seriously injured his leg.
Maxi Araújo is down on the edge of the box. The stretcher car is on the pitch. It looks like he had a bad landing from a fall.
Argentina find their groove as De Paul skips past a challenge to light up the crowd and get them on their feet. Uruguay are defending deep in their own half but they're getting sufficient numbers in front of Argentina's attack.
The ball was whipped over the wall and Rochet could only watch as it bounced on the top of the crossbar!
CROSSBAR FROM MESSI
Messi has another free-kick on the right corner of the box and another chance to go for goal...
Argentina's passing is sloppy due to the fact that are being rushed so much by the opposition's press. Things aren't clicking for Scaloni's side at the moment.
Let's see if the ex-Madrid man can cause Olivera, who is now at left-back after the Giménez change, some problems.
Ángel Di María ON
Nico González OFF
Ángel Di María looks like he's getting ready to come on...
Messi squirms on the edge of the box but the swarm of blue shirts is too much and although the ball is eventually laid off to a teammate, the move goes no further and Uruguay recover.
Into the wall for the second time tonight and it's headed away.
A very weak free-kick is given for Nico González who went down under a challenge from Cáceres. Messi will whip this in from the right corner of the box.
Argentina look nervous and they can't get out of their own defensive third: Uruguay are pressing them all the way back to that loss against Saudi Arabia.
Wow, the first move from Uruguay is sensational: substitute Giménez plays a diagonal pass from one end of the pitch to the other where Araujo gets in behind Molina and his low cross is inches away from being smashed in by Darwin!
HUGE CHANCE FOR URUGUAY
Second half underway!
45 minutes to go at La Bombonera!
Lautaro Martínez ON
Mac Allister OFF
Giménez ON
Viña OFF
Josema Giménez is about to come on for Uruguay.
Here come the players for the second half!
An amazing stat!
Araujo's strike is the first time in 3 years and 5 days that Argentina have conceded the first goal in a game. The last time was back in 2020 against Paraguay.
It's also the first goal they have conceded since the World Cup final in 2022.
Cargando...
Half-time stats: ARG-URU
Possession: 58-42
Shots: 6-3
Shots on target: 2-1
Pass accuracy: 86%-79%
Tackles: 9-12
Big chances: 1-1
Bielsa's reaction to the goal scored by Ronald Araujo
Marcelo, it was for your team!
Cargando...
A fantastic half from Darwin
The Liverpool forward has been key to everything Uruguay have done well. Let's see how his game evolves in the second half.
Cargando...
Half-time thoughts:
Ahead of the goal, it was more a game of tension than one of clear-cut chances for both sides.
While it's true that Darwin and Messi both had opportunities to put their side ahead, the main question that was emerging out of the first half, prior to the goal being scored, was whether both teams would finish the with 11 players on the pitch.
Argentina had carved out some half-chances with Messi at the heart of everything good, while Darwin probably had the clearest chance to put the ball in the back of the net early on.
In the end, it was RonaldAraujowho broke the deadlock after fantastic work from his teammate Viña on the opposite wing, who outmuscled Molina before playing a wonderful cross to the far post.
The World Champions have it all to do as Uruguay look solid and confident, and they'll surely be channeling the same energy they used against Brazil earlier in the competition.
Half-time!
Uruguay go into the break in front!
Uruguay are causing the crowd to whistle the home team as they chase the ball.
Rochet does his best to run down the clock ahead of the break. He catches the ball, drops it, waits and then launches it high into the air. Every page of the Book of Dark Arts used in one move.
Tick, tock...
2 added minutes.
Argentina attack and they win a free-kick on the right touchline. The ball is swung in by Messi and almost met by Romero, but Rochet gets some part of his body to the ball just in time!
BIG CHANCE FOR ARGENTINA
It's stunning pressure from Viña who beats Molina to the ball close to the corner flag.
Molina got himself in all sorts of trouble in his own half which saw the full-back steal it before firing a low cross across goal.
In the end, it's RONALD ARAUJO who gets on the end of the pass at the far post to put Bielsa's side ahead!
GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
URUGUAY SCORE!!!!!!!!!
Uruguay break and Darwin smashes a low cross across goal from the left that is almost met by Pellistri, but Tagliafico gets there first.
It's Argentina's turn to attack now and they've got Uruguay pinned inside their box with crosses being fired in.
The crazy pressure in the middle of the pitch is like watching a group of seagulls squabbling over the last crumb of bread. Nobody can keep hold of the ball.
Until Messi gets it. The Inter Miami forward skips past one challenge, slides through a gap that didn't exist before entering the fourth dimension to dodge another attempt at a tackle.
The crowd were genuinely laughing in amazement.
Romero gets an elbow to the head... or so it seems. Replays show that Facundo Pellistri's side made contact with the Spurs defender's shoulder. The cheeky boy.
It's eventually called back for a foul on Cáceres who made his way into the box but another dizzying sequence of passes ends with Argentina chasing shadows instead of blue shirts. Beautiful Bielsa-ball.
Messi loses the ball in the middle third and the facial expression from the 8-time Ballon d'Or winner is one of frustration. Bielsa's side are not giving him a second.
A stunning move from the away side open up Argentina like a ripe watermelon and they cut through their defensive block down the left.
The ball is cut back to De La Cruz who opens his foot up too much and the ball spins away from goal as it fizzes past the top corner!
NICO DE LA CRUZ FIRES WIDE
Small fouls are breaking up the game now as thetensionincreases on the pitch.
Messi steps up... INTO THE WALL.
Everybody has a bad day in them, Leo.
There is about 15% of the Uruguayan population in the wall...
Olivera clearly shoved Messi over on the edge of the box.
Fight over, free-kick coming up... it's central and pretty much perfect for Leo.
Fight number two! here we go!!
Messi wins a huge foul right on the edge of the box and the Uruguay players are absolutely furious.
It's Argentina vs Uruguay - you didn't expect this game to win a fair play award, did you?
Things seem to have calmed down and the players have stopped fighting with nobody hurt. Back underway!
It looks like Argentina aren't happy about Uruguay keeping the game going after Nico González went down earlier.
Messi is very much involved.
We've got a fight on the pitch...
A nice header from Molina to Dibu keeps Pellistri at bay after another searching ball is popped over the top of the Argentina defensive line.
The past few minutes have been all Argentina as they have pressed Uruguay into their own defensive third, but we've seen how the long ball has been used with Darwin getting in behind the Albiceleste defence, so I wouldn't get too comfortable just yet...
Nutmeg alarm: Darwin delightfully slides the ball through the legs of Julián Álvarez. Cheeky, and just the sort of thing we're here for.
The Argentine found the ball 30 yards out and after wiggling around a challenge the way a determined worm does, he smashed a ferocious long-range effort towards goal that was caught by the goalkeeper.
ROCHET SAVES MESSI SHOT
Uruguay come again and this time it's Maxi Araújo and Pellistri who link up down the left before a poor ball is played into the hands of Dibu in the Argentina goal.
A long ball over the top is met by Darwin, who burns past Otamendi on the right side before flashing a low drive across goal and just wide!
Bielsa utterly motionless on the sideline.
HUGE CHANCE FOR DARWIN NÚÑEZ
Argentina steal the ball and counter with Messi, who runs into Cáceres in the Uruguayan back line.
Whistles from the crowd as Uruguay put a slick passing move together that goes on for around a minute. They've not created anything from is as of yet, but the intention is there.
All of a sudden the away side have woken up and are flicking the ball around like professional pinball players.
The ball was sent over the top of the Argentina defence and Araújo almost got a touch before it was cleared away!
CHANCE FOR URUGUAY
Darwin is brought down by De Paul right next to the technical area of his manager, allowing the away side to have a little breather.
The crowd genuinely go wild every time Messi gets a sniff of the ball. What a noise from the jam-packed stadium.
Play is pulled back for offside just as Messi steps up a gear and turns to sprint towards the Uruguay goal. A fine start from the World Champions.
Otamendi headed the ball across goal from the far post and it was Darwin Núñez who cleared off the line!
CHANCE FOR ARGENTINA
It's De Paul and Messi over the ball, 45 yards out on the right side of the pitch...
Ouch. Looks like Messi's ankle was stood on by Darwin.
It's Argentina with the ball as Uruguay start their press high up the pitch. The home side tap the ball around the middle third and Messi is brought down by Darwin.
And we're underway at La Bombonera!
Argentina kick off the game from left to right!
A delightful kit arrangement:
Argentina are in their home shirt, white shorts and white socks; Uruguay are in their blue home shirts, black shots and black socks.
Here come the teams!
The noise levels are deafening inside the stadium!
Marcelo Bielsa :
There is no effective formula to stop Messi, and the fact that it doesn't exist, keeps football alive.
Huge hugs between Dibu Martínez and Juan Román Riquelme on the pitch...
Bielsa gives Pablo Aimar a squeeze as well. All smiles ahead of the tie.
Final reminder of the teams:
A huge welcome if you've just joined us.
ARGENTINA
Martínez; Molina, Otamendi, Romero, Tagliafico; De Paul, Enzo, Mac Allister; Messi, Álvarez, González
Manager: Lionel Scaloni
URUGUAY
Rochet; Araujo, Cáceres, Olivera, Viña; Fede, De la Cruz, Ugarte; Pellistri, Núñez, Araújo
Manager: Marcelo Bielsa
Ten minutes to go!!!
The players have finished their pre.match warmups and are headed down the tunnel at a rocking Bombonera stadium for the final team talks before the first whistle!
How many South American teams will play in the 2026 World Cup?
How can Messi’s Argentina qualify?
If these two questions are floating around your brain ahead of kick-off, then give this explainer from Roddy a read. But before you do, I'll give you a hint: with the 2026 tournament in the United States, Mexico and Canada expanding to 48 teams, qualification should be straightforward for Argentina..
Want to watch the game today? Well, you're in luck, dear reader.
Here is all the information you need on how to tune your television set to the show at La Bombonera today.
Marcelo Bielsa is on the road to success:
The Argentine has had a long and established career in which he has created a reputation as a groundbreaking coach, one who does not shy away from playing high-octane football whatever the weather.
His most recent job ahead of being named Uruguay coach was at Leeds United, in England. There, he took a squad from the middle of the second division to just a few points away from the Europa League in three seasons.
He was eventually let go after a run of poor results but if he can get anything close to achieving the same amount of success with Uruguay, then he will be remembered for a long time.
Cargando...
Less than half an hour to go!
Here is a reminder of the starting XIs of each side:
ARGENTINA
Martínez; Molina, Otamendi, Romero, Tagliafico; De Paul, Enzo, Mac Allister; Messi, Álvarez, González
Manager: Lionel Scaloni
URUGUAY
Rochet; Araujo, Cáceres, Olivera, Viña; Fede, De la Cruz, Ugarte; Pellistri, Núñez, Araújo
Manager: Marcelo Bielsa
Ocampos misses out due to injury:
Reports say that Lucas Ocampos has missed out on today's squad as he has suffered an injury.
Cargando...
Dibu Martínez is on the pitch
The Premier League goalkeeper has already started his pre-match warmup ahead of the rest of the squad.
Cargando...
Lionel Scaloni pre-game press conference:
It’s going to be a tough game. We know how BIelsa’s sides set up and we know the culture of football that the country has, but we have to impose our style on the game, that’s our idea.
After that there will be nuances where they have their strengths and we will try to make sure that doesn’t happen in this game.
The idea is not to change things and if we have to correct things then we will. This team showed that they are ready to play against anyone.
The team are ready for when the time comes for us to be dominated on the pitch. We have to be ready for that.
How things have gone for Argentina:
Argentina are top of the tree heading into the festive period as they currently sit on 12 points from 12 and carry on their perfect record on the pitch.
They beat Ecuador 1-0 thanks to Messi, thrashed Bolivia 3-0 without him, got past Paraguay 1-0 and overcame Peru 2-0 thanks to a double from the Inter Miami man.
The Inter Miami man starts tonight, so it's definitely on the cards that he keeps that fantastic scoring run going in a blue and white shirt.
| T | MP | W | D | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 8 | 5 | 2 | 2 | 1 |
| 3 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
ARGENTINA TEAM NEWS
Messi captains the side!
Cargando...
JUAN IGNACIO RONCORONI / EFE
Where is the game being played?
La Bombonera of Boca Juniors is without a doubt one of the most iconic stadiums in the world.
The official name of the ground is actually Estadio Alberto J. Armando, and was opened back in 1940.
It has held Copa América games, World Cup qualifiers, and 11 Copa Libertadores finals: the 54,000fans make a huge noise and Uruguay have a huge task ahead of them if they want to get anything from tonight.
Lionel Scaloni's side face a huge challenge against Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay - will Messi play at La Bombonera?
A great question, thanks for asking.
While we wait on the Argentina team news, here is how we think the Albiceleste will line up against Uruguay.
SERGIO MORAES / REUTERS
Who's the ref?
Wilmar Roldán is the lucky chap who is in charge of the whistle and the cards for today’s tie.
The Colombian 43-year-old is a seasoned veteran and was ranked the World's 7th Best Referee of 2015 by the IFFHS and made the final list of referees for both the 2014 and 2018 World Cups.
Last season he took charge of over 10 Copa Libertadores games and the eagle-eyed among you will have seen him crop up during the Saudi Pro League game between Al-Raed and Al-Nassr (Mané, Talisca and Cristiano Ronaldo scored in a 1-3 win, in case you were wondering).
In other South American news:
Venezuela and Ecuador are currently drawing 0-0 at half-time in their game.
Cargando...
URUGUAY TEAM NEWS
Josema Giménez is the big name not included as Bielsa names his starting XI.
Cargando...
Uruguay are on their way to the stadium!
The two-time world champions have left the team hotel and are making their way to La Bombonera for the game, which kicks off in around an hour.
Cargando...
While we wait on the news of whether Messi will start the game or not, his boss David Beckham has been speaking about the impact of the Argentine in the USA, the country where he currently plays football.
Messi's impact has been seismic in the United States and his arrival in the country to join MLS and Inter Miami is without a doubt a turning point for the sport in the country, with many people turning on their TV sets to watch the World Cup winner in action.
David Beckham explained the reasons for Inter Miami's decision to sign Lionel Messi, saying that he wanted to inspire young people in the United States to play soccer.
“It’s still hard to believe that when someone turns around to me and says Inter Miami have Lionel Messi in their team, you know. It’s a very proud thing for me to have as an owner, to have a player like that, the best player in the world, in our team."
“We always knew that bringing Leo to America, not just to Miami, it was our gift to America and MLS. Because someone like that changes the game. You know, someone like that inspires another generation of soccer players. And that’s why we wanted to bring Leo to the team."
Here's the record between the two sides:
At the moment, it's Argentina with the huge historical advantage over their opponents, and it will take a lot of years for the Uruguayans to overtake them.
Starting today would be a good time to do so, and with Bielsa at the helm of a team that includes Fede Valverde, Luis Suárez and Darwin Núñez, who knows what could happen...
Argentina, after 195 games, have 91 wins and 46draws, with Uruguay totting up 58wins in that time.
Cargando...
ANDRES CUENCA / REUTERS
How things are going for Uruguay...
The Uruguayans have a new coach, Marcelo Bielsa, and his first competitive game in charge saw his side run away 3-1 against Chile. After that, they lost against Ecuador before drawing 2-2 with Colombia.
However, a huge result was to come as they beat Brazil 2-0 in a historic match, their first victory against the side for 22 years.
Is Messi going to start against Uruguay?
Here's the latest update on Lionel Messi's fitness and whether or not I think he'll start against Marcelo Bielsa's Uruguay.
The stadium looks beautiful ahead of kick-off
The Bombonera is one of the world's great stadiums and is the perfect venue for such a fascinating tie between two top sides in South America.
Cargando...
How the table looks:
As you can see from the table, it’s Lionel Scaloni’s side who lead the way in the qualification group with a 100%record so far after4games played.
They’ve scored 7 goals in those 4 games and are yet to concede a single goal so far in what continues to be a simply stunning run of results since their World Cup win almost a year ago.
As for Uruguay, they are one of three teams on 7 points and sit joint-second behind the Albiceleste.
The 8 goals they’ve scored puts them marginally ahead of Brazil and Venezuela and into a fantastic position in this notoriously tricky qualification round.
| T | MP | W | D | L | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 |
| 2 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 3 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 4 | 7 | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 |
| 5 | 6 | 4 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
Squad news: Uruguay
Luis Suárez is the big name that Marcelo Bielsa has included in his squad this time around.
The 36-year-old Gremio forward has been in fantastic form for his club side over recent weeks and it also looked like Bielsa would opt for another football veteran in the shape of Cavani, although he missedout in the end due to injury.
Squad news: Argentina
The surprises in Scaloni’s squad are Maffeo, the Mallorca full-back and FranciscoOrtega, who plays for Olympiacos.
As well as these two new names, Scaloni has been able to call up both Paolo Dybala and Ángel Di María once again, who missed out last time due to injury.
Alejandro Garnacho and Ángel Correa are the two big names who miss out.
Welcome!
Good morning, good afternoon and good evening, depending on where you’re watching this, but most of all welcome to this sensational tie we’ve got in the CONMEBOL qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
It’s Joe on the buttons today and I’ve got the pleasure of talking you through the game at the fantastic La Bombonera stadium in Buenos Aires as Argentina host Uruguay.