Brazil win 6 out of 6 World Cup Qualifiers while Messi-led Argentina stumble

Brazil's World Cup Qualifiers campaign is off to a flyer as they made it six wins in six games after a 2-0 win over Paraguay on Tuesday night. While Brazil's arch-rivals Argentina are also yet undefeated, they suffered a third draw in six games (3W) against Colombia on Tuesday night. Here is a deeper look at the World Cup Qualifiers campaign of both Brazil and Argentina as they both also gear up for the upcoming Copa America 2021 tournament.

World Cup qualifiers: Neymar and Brazil make perfect start

Brazil began their World Cup Qualifiers campaign in the best of fashions as they thrashed Bolivia 5-0. Marquinhos opened the scoring for Tite's side followed by a brace from Roberto Firmino, an own goal from Jose Carrasco, and a fifth goal from Philippe Coutinho. Brazil followed that win with a 4-2 win over Peru, a 1-0 win over Venezuela, a 2-0 win over Uruguay and a 2-0 win over Ecuador. Meanwhile, the Seleção beat Paraguay 2-0 in their last game thanks to a goal each from Neymar and Lucas Paqueta.

World Cup qualifiers: Lionel Messi led Argentina stumble yet again

On the other hand, Argentina have gotten off to a slow start in the World Cup qualifiers as compared to arch-rivals Brazil. The Lionel Messi led side trail Brazil (18) by six points after six games. Argentina began their World Cup Qualifiers with a 1-0 win over Ecuador with captain Lionel Messi scoring a penalty. They followed that win with another 2-1 win over Bolivia before drawing three of their next four games.

Following their two victories, Argentina drew 1-1 to Paraguay, beat Peru 2-0 and drew 1-1 to Chile before drawing 2-2 to Colombia in their previous encounter. Even though Cristian Romero and Leandro Paredes helped Argentina get a 2-0 lead in the opening 10 minutes of the game they could not hold on to it. Second-half goals from Luis Fernando Muriel Fruto in the 54th minute followed by a 94th-minute equaliser from Miguel Borja ensured that both Argentina and Colombia shared the spoils.

Is Copa America 2021 cancelled?

The Copa America 2021 has recently been facing a lot of setbacks as first Colombia was stripped off from hosting the tournament followed by Argentina withdrawing for similar reasons. Brazil was then named the host of the tournament but with Brazil also battling the deadly Covid-19 disease it remains to be seen whether the Copa America 2021 will actually take place. The Supreme Court of Brazil has scheduled a hearing to decide whether the tournament should be hosted in the country in such circumstances. The Copa America 2021 is all set to begin on June 14, 2021. "Given the extraordinary nature of the case, I hereby grant the request to include the matter in an extraordinary virtual session of the court, to be held on Thursday, June 10," said the Chief Justice of the 11-member court Luiz Fux.