Salomon Rondon scored a second-half equalizer as Venezuela held Argentina to a 1-1 draw in South America's 2026 World Cup qualifier on Thursday, while 10-man Bolivia beat Colombia 1-0.

Lionel Messi's return to Argentina's starting XI appeared to have put the World Cup winners on the path to victory after the Inter Miami superstar's free kick set up Nicolas Otamendi's opener after 13 minutes.

But Venezuela's fighting performance in front of the home fans in Maturin was rewarded midway through the second half when the 35-year-old Rondon met Yeferson Soteldo's cross with a header that flew past Argentina goalkeeper Geronimo Rulli.

Despite the lost points, 2022 world champions Argentina remain firmly on course for a place in the 2026 finals, to be played in the US, Canada and Mexico.

With the tournament expanded to 48 teams, the top six finishers in the 10-team South American round-robin qualifying competition will receive a ticket to the final.

Argentina lead the table with 19 points from nine games, three points ahead of second-placed Colombia, which suffered a shock 1-0 defeat to Bolivia in another qualifying game on Thursday.

Bolivia recovered from the first-half sacking of midfielder Hector Cuellar to claim victory in a game played in the thin air of El Alto, which is about 4,150 meters (13,600 feet) above sea level.

– Terceros Stunner –

A great individual goal from Miguel Terceros gave the Bolivians their fourth victory in qualifying and moved them into the automatic qualification places.

Bolivia's fortunes have improved dramatically since the team played its home qualifiers in El Alto, which is just over 500m higher than the Bolivians' usual home venue, the Estadio Hernando Siles in nearby La Paz.

Bolivia decided to move the games to El Alto after losing two of its first three home qualifiers in La Paz last year.

The move paid off: Thursday's 1-0 win followed a 4-0 win over Venezuela at the same venue in September.

After securing a shock 2-1 away win against Chile last month, Bolivia now sits fifth in the South American table with 12 points from nine games.

Bolivia last qualified for the World Cup at the 1994 finals in the United States and participated in the 1930 and 1950 tournaments after receiving invitations to compete.

Terceros' winning goal came in the 58th minute when the 20-year-old winger, who plays for Brazilian club Santos, cut forward from the right side, weaved past Colombian defenders Jhon Lucumi and Kevin Castano and fired a blitz with the left foot shot that flew into the top corner of the goal.

Bolivia is level on points with Ecuador, which moved up to fourth place after a 0-0 draw with Paraguay in Quito on Thursday.

In Thursday's other game, struggling Chile, one place behind the bottom of the table with just five points from eight games, hosts sixth-placed Brazil.

bur/rcw/bb