Argentina slumped to a shock home defeat against Ecuador while Brazil were beaten 2-0 by Chile as upsets dominated the opening round of South America’s qualifying campaign for the 2018 World Cup.
A star-studded Argentina side badly missing the inspiration of injured captain lionel Messi struggled to find a way through a disciplined Ecuador in a lackustre game at the Estadio Monumental on Thursday.
The tone for a miserable night for Argentina had been set early on, when Manchester City striker Sergio Aguero was stretchered off the field with what looked like a serious hamstring injury.
The game appeared to be heading for a 0-0 draw entering the final 10 minutes before Ecuador secured a breakthrough from a Frickson Erazo header that fired the minnows into a 1-0 lead.
Moments later Antonio Valencia burst down the right flank and fed for Felipe Caicedo, who slotted home past Manchester United goalkeeper Sergio Romero for 2-0.
The defeat piles the pressure on Argentina coach Gerardo Martino, whose position was already the subject of scrutiny following his team’s failure to win the Copa America earlier this year.
Brazil meanwhile — also missing their talismanic presence with captain Neymar serving a suspension — were undone by goals from Chile stars Eduardo Vargas and Alexis Sanchez in Santiago.
Vargas, topscorer in Chile’s triumphant Copa America campaign, picked up where he left off in that tournament to fire the hosts into the lead on 72 minutes.
Arsenal star Sanchez then applied the coup de grace in the 90th minute, jabbing home from close range after a wonderful flowing move which ripped Brazil’s defence apart. Chile manager Jorge Sampaoli hailed his side’s victory, the first by Chile over Brazil since 2000.
Brazil had been desperate to move on from a disappointing Copa America campaign which followed their humiliating 7-1 drubbing against Germany in last year’s World Cup semi-finals.
But the Brazilians, lacking the creative flair of Neymar, struggled to find a way through a physical Chile side who were fortunate to finish the game with 11 men.
Yet while Argentina and Brazil were left reeling, there were no such problems for Uruguay, who shrugged off the absence of star strikers luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani to score a historic first ever away win over Bolivia in la Paz.
The high altitude of la Paz has often left visiting sides gasping for breath, with Uruguay suffering a 4-1 thrashing in their last trip to the Bolivian capital in 2012.
Colombia meanwhile opened their qualifying campaign with a 2-0 win, Teofilo Gutierrez and Edwin Cardona getting the goals in a hardfought victory over Peru in Barranquilla.
In the day’s other game, Paraguay snatched a late away win over Venezuela when Derlis Gonzalez pounced on a defensive mistake to score the game’s only goal in the 85th minute.
Portugal, Ireland in place
Portugal and Northern Ireland booked their places at Euro 2016 on Thursday, while world champion Germany was made to wait after being upset 1-0 by Ireland in Dublin.
Irish substitute Shane long ran onto a kick out over the German defense from goalkeeper Darren Randolph and blasted past Manuel Neuer to the top corner to ensure Group D will be decided on the final day.
Germany, Portugal and Ireland are vying for the top two spots to ensure direct qualification. Scotland’s hopes were ended when Robert lewandowski salvaged a 2-2 draw for Poland in Glasgow.
One hundred miles to the south in Belfast, Steven Davis scored twice for Northern Ireland to qualify for its first European Championship tournament with a 3-1 victory over Greece in Group F.
Joao Moutinho struck for Portugal to beat Denmark 1-0 and secure its place by winning Group I.
Here’s a roundup of action from Thursday’s Euro 2016 qualifying games:
GROUP D
Shane long’s strike earned Ireland at least a playoff place with a famous 1-0 win over Germany. Ireland had never before beaten Germany in a competitive game.
Germany had missed a host of chances through Jerome Boateng, Ilkay Gundogan and Mesut Ozil, with Ireland forced to chase the game for long periods before long struck in the 70th minute.
Thomas Mueller missed the chance to equalize eight minutes later - a draw would have been enough for Germany - when he fired wide with the goal at his mercy.
Poland captain lewandowski’s second goal deep in injury time ended Scotland’s hopes of a playoff. Because of its superior goal difference, a draw on Sunday would be enough for Poland to qualify directly, while Ireland needs to win to avoid the playoffs.
Germany hosts already eliminated Georgia in leipzig on Sunday, when a draw would be enough.
GROUP I
Cristiano Ronaldo’s Portugal will be playing at Euro 2016 after beating Denmark 1-0, and Albania could still make it after a tense but violence-free 2-0 defeat against Serbia. The match in Elbasan, central Albania, was watched over by more than 2,000 police, with extensive security checks and snipers on rooftops. A match last year between the countries was interrupted by violence after a drone carrying a nationalist Albanian banner hovered over the pitch.
In the end, Thursday’s drama came on the pitch as Serbia captured a late win with injury time goals from Aleksandar Kolarov and Adem ljajic.
GROUP F
Two goals from captain Steven Davis and another from Josh Magennis guaranteed Northern Ireland a place in France in June with victory over Greece.
Davis opened the scoring from close range in the 35th minute, with Magennis doubling the hosts’ lead shortly after the interval. Davis added a third in the 58th when he sent a header into the far corner following a corner to send Windsor Park into raptures.
Hristos Aravidis netted a consolation for Greece with four minutes remaining. The win moves Northern Ireland onto 20 points, three ahead of second-placed Romania following its 1-1 draw against Finland in Bucharest. Hungary came from behind to beat the Faroe Islands 2-1 in Budapest courtesy of two second-half goals from substitute Daniel Bode.