James Rodriguez delivered a crucial performance, converting a penalty and assisting a goal to lead Colombia to a thrilling 2-1 victory over defending champion Argentina in Tuesday's South American World Cup qualifier.

Argentina, without its injured star Lionel Messi, fell short in Barranquilla in the teams' first encounter since the Copa America final.

Yerson Mosquera opened the scoring in the 25th minute, but Argentina equalized in the 48th when Nico Gonzalez capitalized on a defensive blunder by Colombia.

Rodriguez's 60th-minute penalty, awarded after a video review, secured the win at Metropolitano Stadium.

World Cup champion Argentina lifted the Copa América trophy after a 1-0 overtime victory over Colombia in July.

Colombia, which hadn't beaten Argentina since 2019, remains unbeaten in South American World Cup qualifying.

Argentina leads the round-robin competition with 18 points after eight matches, two points ahead of Colombia.

Also on Tuesday, Bolivia upset Chile 2-1 in Santiago, and Ecuador beat Peru 1-0. Venezuela vs. Uruguay and Paraguay vs. Brazil were still to play.

The top six teams in South American qualifying will secure automatic spots at the 2026 World Cup.

Colombia once again had the 33-year-old Rodriguez to thank after he provided a perfect cross for Mosquera to head in, opening the scoring. That assist tied Carlos Valderrama's record of 11 assists in South American World Cup qualifying.

A mistake by Rodriguez allowed Argentina to equalize, with Gonzalez stealing the ball from him and scoring past goalkeeper Camilo Vargas.

Rodriguez redeemed himself by beating Emiliano "Dibu" Martinez, a prolific penalty stopper, and matching Radamel Falcao Garcia's tally of 13 goals in World Cup qualifying.

Argentina's strikers Lautaro Martinez and Julian Alvarez failed to offer as much threat as they do when veteran Messi is there to create opportunities.