Internationals | Paraguay loss for Cuti's Argentina

Cristian Romero played the first half as Argentina suffered 2-1 loss against Paraguay overnight in CONMEBOL qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

It was 1-1 when Cuti was replaced by Leonardo Balerdi at half-time at Estadio Defensores del Chaco in Asunción. Lautaro Martinez opened the scoring for the World Cup holders on 11 minutes but the home side replied through Antonio Sanabria (19) and Omar Alderete (47) to take the points.

That was La Albiceleste's third defeat in South American qualifying, but they remain top of the standings. The top six countries qualify automatically for the tournament staged by Canada, Mexico and the USA in 2026 - Argentina are fully 10 points clear of Venezuela, currently in seventh.

Friday's action

Yves Bissouma – Mali away Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against Mozambique – kick-off 4pm
Radu Dragusin – Romania home UEFA Nations League match against Kosovo – kick-off 7.45pm
Pedro Porro and Bryan Gil – Spain away UEFA Nations League match against Denmark – kick-off 7.45pm
Archie Gray and Dane Scarlett – England Under-21s away friendly against Spain – kick-off 5.30pm
Will Lankshear and Ashley Phillips – England Under-20s Elite League home fixture against Germany – kick-off 7pm
Callum Olusesi – England Under-18s match against Poland in Spain – kick-off 11am
Malachi Hardy – England Under-17s away friendly against Belgium – kick-off 6pm

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