Argentina’s men’s national football team looked like a shell of itself Thursday night and suffered an unexpected 2-1 loss against Paraguay in Asunción. Despite the defeat, the Albiceleste remains atop of the South American Qualifiers after 11 fixtures played and is on solid place to secure its spot in the 2026 FIFA World Cup to be played in Canada, the United States, and Mexico. 

The first half was vibrant, with both teams eagerly looking to score. Lautaro Martínez scored for Argentina at the 11 minute mark after a VAR review sanctioned the goal. Paraguay, however, struck back quickly. Just 8 minutes later, Gustavo Gómez hit a header that bounced off the crossbar. The play continued, with the ball eventually finding its way to the feet of Gustavo Velázquez on the right side of the field. 

The Paraguayan defender sent the ball to the middle of the box where striker Antonio Sanabria connected with a beautiful bicycle kick to score and tie the game.

Brazilian referee Anderson Daronco committed a serious gaffe in the first half when he failed to send off Paraguayan center back Omar Alderete after two fouls against Lionel Messi. He got a yellow card for the first one but was later spared the same penalty when he prevented the progression of a play. Despite the complaints of coach Lionel Scaloni and the players, Daronco did not change his decision.

This mistake had a great impact in the second half. Two minutes into playing time, Alderete himself scored with a header to make the score 2-1 for Paraguay. Argentina kept trying to tie the match and even had a couple opportunities courtesy of Rodrigo de Paul and Lionel Messi, but couldn’t get either to go in. 

The Albiceleste will be back in action on Tuesday night when it will play Peru at the Boca Juniors stadium, known as La Bombonera. The game is scheduled to begin at 9 p.m., Argentina time.