Lionel Messi was among the scorers as Argentina beat rival Uruguay 3-0, hours after Brazil's run of consecutive wins in South American World Cup qualifying ended in a 0-0 with Colombia in Barranquilla.Brazil leads the qualifying competition with 28 points from nine wins and the draw, six points clear of second-place Argentina.
The match between Brazil and Argentina was contentiously suspended after seven minutes of play because of COVID-19 protocols. FIFA is yet to decide what to do with the game. Brazil's tally so far would have been enough to qualify for all World Cups directly since 2002.
Ecuador remains in third spot with 16 points, marginally ahead of Uruguay based on the number of victories. Colombia is in fifth place with 15 points. All three have already played 11 matches. Chile was playing Paraguay later on Sunday.
The top four teams earn direct entry to the World Cup in Qatar next year. The fifth-place team can still qualify via an inter-continental playoff. All teams in South American World Cup qualifiers will play again on Thursday.
