Argentina’s Lionel Messi and Brazil’s Vinicius Junior had frustrating evenings in qualifying for the South American World Cup. While Messi couldn’t help his team avoid a 2-1 defeat in Paraguay, Vinicius Junior missed a second-half penalty as Brazil were held to a 1-1 draw in Venezuela.

Argentina will remain on top of the 10-team round robin with 22 points from 11 matches. Brazil provisionally occupies third place in the ranking with 17 points. Also on Thursday, Ecuador beat Bolivia 4-0. The Ecuadorians remain in fifth position with 16 points, while Bolivia is in eighth place with 12 points.

France draws against Israel

Paris: France and Italy advanced to the quarter-finals of the revamped Nations League as England took revenge on Greece ahead of Thomas Tuchel’s imminent arrival as coach.

France drew 0-0 with Israel on Thursday in a match requiring a high-security operation in and around Paris, a week after violence erupted in Amsterdam over the visit of Israeli club Maccabi Tel Aviv for a Europa League match.

About 150 Israeli fans were among a crowd of 16,611 inside the 80,000-capacity Stade de France, and there was a brief scuffle between some supporters at one point in the first half. -time.

The draw was enough to secure France a top-two place in their group alongside Italy, who beat Belgium 1-0 away thanks to Sandro Tonali’s 11th-minute goal. They advance to the quarterfinals in March, from which the lineup for the Final Four mini-tournament in June will be determined. Germany and Spain were the first two nations to qualify for the quarter-finals.