Argentina’s visit to Paraguay had it all—goals, scoring opportunities, and controversy. Cameras captured Lionel Messi visibly frustrated with Brazilian referee Anderson Daronco and Lionel Scaloni calling him a "shameless" official.

What started off ideally for Lionel Messi and his Argentina teammates on Thursday during a qualifying match towards the 2026 World Cup soon turned into a night to forget. The visitors and CONMEBOL qualification leaders,

The TV cameras captured the Argentine captain confronting referee Anderson Daronco over his failure to penalise Alderete for a series of reckless challenges. Messi was seen wagging a finger in Daronco’s face, visibly frustrated with the official's decisions. It’s also been reported, as per the Mirror, that Messi told the referee:

A stunning bicycle kick from Antonio Sanabria and a second-half header from Omar Alderete gave Paraguay a well earned 2-1 home win over Argentina in the South American World Cup qualifiers on Thursday.

Lionel Messi returns to action with the Argentine national team Thursday night for a 2026 World Cup qualifying match on the road against Paraguay.

Paraguay defeated Argentina 2-1 in a South American World Cup qualifier with stunning goals from Antonio Sanabria and Omar Alderete. Argentina's initial goal was awarded after a VAR review. Paraguay's victory held despite several Argentine attempts,

Lionel Messi's Argentina fell 2-1 to Paraguay in Matchday 11 of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers at Defensores del Chaco stadium. Paraguay came back from Lautaro Martinez’s early goal to defeat Argentina 2-1 for Matchday 11 of 2026 World Cup Qualifiers at Defensores del Chaco stadium.

Argentina and Brazil faced tough nights in World Cup qualifiers, with Argentina losing 2-1 to Paraguay and Brazil drawing 1-1 with Venezuela. Messi and Vinicius Júnior had challenging performances, affecting their teams' standings.

World champions Argentina suffered a 2-1 defeat to Paraguay while rivals Brazil were held to a 1-1 draw at Venezuela as South America's big guns struggled in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying on Thursday.

Lionel Messi failed to show up in the attack, and Paraguay's stars rose to the occasion as Argentina fell in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying.

Argentina will be playing Paraguay at the Defensores del Chaco stadium in Asuncion on Thursday and the home crowd has been warned by APF manager Fernando Villasbao to not wear any jerseys of Argentina,