Bolivia beat Messi-less Argentina 2-0 in qualifier

Reuters: Argentina, weakened by the last-minute suspension of Lionel Messi, had their chances of reaching next year’s World Cup finals dealt a blow on Tuesday when they were beaten 2-0 by a spirited Bolivia side in La Paz.

Juan Arce and Marcelo Martins scored either side of halftime to give Bolivia a deserved victory over an Argentina side who defended poorly throughout an exciting end-to-end encounter.

The defeat in the high altitude of Bolivia’s capital, coupled with Colombia’s 2-0 win away in Ecuador and Chile’s 3-1 defeat of Venezuela, means the twice World Cup winners fall from third to fifth in the 10-team South American qualifying group.

The top four teams qualify automatically for Russia 2018 and the fifth-placed side goes into a playoff with a team from Oceania.

Argentina have 22 points, one fewer than Chile, two behind Colombia and eight in arrears to group leaders Brazil. Uruguay, who play Peru later on Tuesday, are also above them on 23 points.

Argentina were already without suspended regulars Javier Mascherano, Lucas Biglia and Gonzalo Higuain and their task was made even tougher when captain Messi was handed a four-match ban for swearing at a match official hours before the game started.