Defending world champions Argentina were held to a 1-1 draw by Venezuela on Lionel Messi's much-anticipated return, while Brazil revived their 2026 World Cup qualifying hopes with a dramatic 2-1 win over Chile on Thursday.
Messi, back in action after missing Argentina's September fixtures due to injury, appeared to put the world champions on the path to victory, setting up Nicolas Otamendi's 13th-minute goal with a brilliant free kick in Maturín.
However, Venezuela's resilient display paid off in the second half when veteran striker Salomon Rondon headed in Yeferson Soteldo's cross to beat Argentina’s Geronimo Rulli, leveling the match.
Despite the slip-up, Argentina, the 2022 World Cup champions, remain in strong contention for a spot in the 2026 tournament, to be hosted by the U.S., Canada and Mexico.
With the tournament expanded to 48 teams, the top six finishers in South America's 10-team round-robin qualifying competition will earn a ticket to the finals.
Argentina lead the standings with 19 points from nine games, three points clear of second-placed Colombia, who suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Bolivia in other qualifying action on Thursday.
While Argentina look poised to qualify comfortably, rivals Brazil continue to struggle in their qualifying campaign.
Chile, who are one place off the bottom of the standings, rocked Brazil after just two minutes when veteran striker Eduardo Vargas steered a looping header over Manchester City goalkeeper Ederson to make it 1-0.
Brazil drew level in first-half stoppage time after Savinho worked himself into space before crossing for Botafogo forward Igor Jesus to head home.
The match looked destined to finish in a draw until the 89th minute, when Brazil substitute Luiz Henrique arrowed in a low shot from the edge of the area to make it 2-1.
The win moves Brazil into fourth place in the standings with 13 points from nine games, six points adrift of leaders Argentina.
Bolivia boost
Elsewhere Thursday, Bolivia boosted their hopes of a first World Cup appearance since 1994 with a gutsy 1-0 win over Colombia in a game played in the thin air of El Alto, which is situated at around 4,150 meters (13,600 feet) above sea level.
A superb individual goal from Miguel Terceros handed the Bolivians their fourth victory of qualifying and vaulted them into the automatic qualification positions.
Bolivia's fortunes have taken a dramatic upturn since the team started playing qualifiers in El Alto, which is just over 500 meters higher than their usual home venue of the Estadio Hernando Siles in nearby La Paz.
Bolivia opted to move fixtures to El Alto after losing two out of their opening three home qualifiers in La Paz last year.
The move has paid off, with Thursday's 1-0 win coming after a 4-0 rout of Venezuela at the same venue in September.
After claiming a shock 2-1 win away to Chile last month, Bolivia now sit in sixth place in the South American standings with 12 points from nine games.
Terceros' winning goal came in the 58th minute, with the 20-year-old winger who plays for Brazilian club Santos cutting in from the right flank, shimmying past Colombian defenders Jhon Lucumi and Kevin Castano, and unleashing a left-footed thunderbolt that flew into the top corner.
Bolivia are level on points with Ecuador, who finished the day in fifth place after a 0-0 draw with Paraguay in Quito.