CONMEBOL's qualifying campaign for the 2026 FIFA World Cup continued this evening as critical clashes erupted in the second half of the schedule on matchday ten. Argentina welcomed Bolivia to the Monumental to finish at the top of the South American group after ending their two-game winless streak.

Brazil also took on a struggling Peru that evening in front of their home crowd at the Mané Garrincha in an attempt to find some consistency on the pitch.

Here's what happened.

Brazil 4-0 Peru

Goalscorers: Raphinha 38′, 54′, Pereira 71′, Luiz Henrique 74′

World giants Brazil may not have been able to keep up with rivals Argentina in the goalscoring charts this evening, but Selection Thanks to a confident victory over Peru, the fans were able to send home satisfied fans in regular time.

Head coach Dorival Júnior had only managed two wins in the last five qualifying games heading into today's game and was therefore looking to make it back-to-back wins. Brazil would meet this need.

Barcelona's Raphinha opened the scoring with a penalty in the 38th minute after Brazil struggled to break through despite dominant possession. The former Leeds United fan favorite scored his brace in an identical manner nine minutes after half-time that evening.

In a game that mirrored Argentina's win over Bolivia, Brazil's dominance asserted itself two more times before it was all said and done for Mané Garrincha.

Firstly, Andreas Pereira scored his second international goal in the 71st minute, just two minutes after coming on as a substitute. An acrobatic volley from the Fulham star, after fellow second-half substitute Luiz Henrique played a ball to the back post after finding space on the right, gave Brazil a deserved 3-0 lead.

Three minutes later, it was Henrique who became the scorer after receiving a pass from Botafogo's clubmate Igor Jesus before firing a left-footed shot past Peru goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.

With a comfortable three points, Brazil would move level with Uruguay in third place and just three points behind second-placed Colombia.

Argentina – Bolivia 6-0

Goalscorers: Messi 19′, 84′, 86′, Martínez 43′, Alvarez 45+3′, Almada 70′

World champions Argentina raged against helpless Bolivia in a one-sided clash to extend their lead at the top of CONMEBOL qualifying, with Lionel Messi once again stealing the show.

La Albiceleste found the back of the net for the first time that evening just before the 20-minute mark, courtesy of none other than the little man himself, who scored the 850th total goal of his storied career.

The Argentine legend pounced on a loose ball because Marcelo Suarez had a weak ball in defense that ricocheted off the lurking Lautaro Martínez, only to hit the diminutive attacker before he calmly shot past Guillermo Viscarra at the near post.

Messi almost doubled his goal tally on the night in the 35th minute with a typical free-kick attempt, but this time Viscarra was up to the task and made a clever save to keep the deficit at one. It wouldn't take long.

Argentina doubled their lead just two minutes before half-time when Messi was sent through on goal by a brilliant ball from Rodrigo De Paul and the Inter Miami player teed up Martínez, who fired home from close range.

In the dying embers of injury time, it would be Alvarez who would finish things off. The Atlético Madrid striker's run was spotted by Messi before he played the ball over the roof and into the box from a free-kick, meaning the former Manchester City striker only had to deflect his shot past a helpless Viscarra to extend his advantage .

Botafogo's Thiago Almada made the final score 4-0 on the night with a clever finish from inside the penalty area after firing Nahuel Molina's low cross over the goal in the 70th minute as one-way traffic continued and Messi completed his hat-trick in the final minutes of the second half with a quick one-two punch.

With tonight's convincing result, Lionel Scaloni's side extended their unbeaten streak at home to nine and also secured their fifth win in a row against La Verde.

Other scores

Colombia – Chile 4-0

Paraguay – Venezuela 2:1

Uruguay – Ecuador 0-0