Estimated read time: Less than a minute
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
BARRANQUILLA, Colombia — Two South American soccer powerhouses have lost in World Cup qualifying in the absence of their biggest stars, with Lionel Messi missing Argentina's 2-1 loss to Colombia and Neymar on the sidelines for Brazil's upset defeat in Paraguay. James Rodríguez scored from the penalty spot and had an assist to help Colombia edge defending champion Argentina 2-1 in Barranquilla. Diego Gómez netted the winner for Paraguay in a 1-0 victory over Brazil in Asunción. Both Argentina and Brazil struggled without their injured stars, with the replacements for Messi and Neymar unable to deliver away wins for their teams.








