Colombia will need a miracle to qualify for the World Cup after a 1-0 defeat to Argentina in South American qualifying on Tuesday.

Lionel Messi was absent due to Covid but Argentina, which have already qualified for Qatar 2022, did not miss him as Lautaro Martinez scored the only goal of the match in Cordoba in the 29th minute after being given the freedom on the penalty area by the Colombia defence.

Colombia sit seventh in the World Cup qualification table with 17 points.

Argentina extended their unbeaten run to 29 games on Tuesday when they beat a toothless Colombia 1-0 in a World Cup qualifier.

Lautaro Martinez got the only goal of an untidy game after 29 minutes when he took advantage of slack defending to rifle home from inside the penalty area.

The top four teams in the South American section qualify automatically for Qatar and the fifth-placed side goes into a playoff with a team from the Asian confederation.

Brazil and Argentina have already qualified and Ecuador’s 24 points mean they are almost certain to join them.

The result leaves Colombia in seventh place in the 10-team table with 17 points, five points behind Uruguay, two behind Chile, and three behind Peru, who could strengthen their position further with a win over Ecuador later on Tuesday.

The match brought together a home side that had not lost a goal in their last four home matches and a Colombian team that had not scored in their last six qualifiers.