Lionel Messi blamed the conditions of the pitch Estadio Monumental de Maturín for Argentina's "ugly' 1-1 draw against Venezuela on Thursday night in their first World Cup qualifier of the October international window.

CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifying gets back underway in what has been a topsy turvy run so far for South American teams through eight rounds of play. Lionel Messi will return for Argentina with the team still in first place during qualifying but Colombia and Uruguay are hot on their heels.

Chile, one of the worst-performing teams in South American qualifying, opened the scoring seconds after the kickoff at the National Stadium in Santiago

Lionel Messi's return to the Argentina team was spoiled by Venezuela, who held the World Champions to a 1-1 draw on October 10, Thursday. Brazil secured a last-gasp win to edge past Chile.

Argentina were held to a 1-1 draw by Venezuela on Lionel Messi's return as Brazil got their 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign back on track with a last-gasp 2-1 victory over Chile on Thursday.The move has paid off,

Salomon Rondon grabbed a second-half equaliser as Venezuela held Argentina to a 1-1 draw in South America's 2026 World Cup qualifiers on Thursday while 10-man Bolivia upset Colombia 1-0. The move has paid off,

With Lionel Messi sidelined, Argentina did lose to Colombia in September while also defeating Chile. The Inter Miami star has returned for the October window and appears fit and ready to go.