Mediocre Brazil recorded a 2-1 victory over Chile in the South American World Cup qualifier on Thursday, thanks to a goal from substitute Luiz Henrique in the 89th minute.

After a disappointing defeat to Paraguay and losing four of their last five qualifying matches with a string of poor performances, Brazil had to bounce back from behind when Eduardo Vargas put the locals ahead with a fine header from Felipe Loyola’s cross in the second minute.

Chile missed opportunities to extend their lead, but Brazil managed to find an equalizer in extra time before half-time, when Savinho made a good run down the right and crossed to Igor Jesus, who nodded a towering header past the goalkeeper and scored on his first call. -on for the national team.

Brazil controlled the second half and found a deserved winner late on with a fine effort from Jesus’ teammate with Brazilian leader and Copa Libertadores semi-finalist Botafogo Luiz Henrique, who scored a curling strike from the edge of the penalty area to score the five player to save. times World Cup champion, three much-needed points.

The victory moved Brazil to fourth place in the standings with 13 points, two behind Uruguay and eight behind leaders Argentina. Chile is second from bottom with five points.

Earlier on Thursday, leaders Argentina were held to a 1-1 draw with Venezuela on Lionel Messi’s return from injury.

The Argentina captain brilliantly assisted Nicolás Otamendi on a rain-soaked pitch to open the scoring 13 minutes after kick-off, but ruthless Venezuela fought back to equalize with a Salomón Rondón header in the second half.

In-form Bolivia recorded a brutal 1-0 victory, their third win in a row, and handed second-placed Colombia their first defeat in the qualifiers.

Bolivia attempted to end a 13-match winless streak against their opponents and started well, but had to play most of the match with 10 men as Héctor Cuéllar was sent off with a straight red card for leaving striker Roger Martinez last man in the match. 20th minute.

However, the fierce locals managed to find the winner in a stunning strike from Miguel Terceros, who dominated on the right flank and cut inside to beat two Colombian defenders before unleashing a neat left-footed strike that flew into the top left corner. 58th minute.

Argentina top the standings with 19 points, three ahead of Colombia and four ahead of third-place Uruguay, which has a match in hand and will play last-placed Peru on Friday.

Brazil climbed to fourth place, leaving behind Ecuador, which is in fifth place with twelve points after a goalless draw against Paraguay.

In terms of goal difference, Bolivia is behind Ecuador in sixth place, followed by Venezuela one point behind in seventh place. Only the top six are guaranteed a place in the 2026 final.