Latin American Football Roundup: Botafogo leads in Brazil, Velez remains at the top in Argentina - SportsLounge

Latin American Football Matchday.

South America’s top leagues are back in action. All teams have already played matches with full squads after this week’s FIFA World Cup 2026 Qualifiers.

The soccer action and excitement continued to crescendo in the leagues of Brazil, Argentina, Colombia and Mexico. The leaders are consolidating their positions at the top and the fight to avoid relegation to the second division is becoming increasingly dramatic.

Botafogo leads in Brazil.

Botafogo continues with a firm footing in the Brazilian league. This week they achieved a very important victory against Corinthians, in a very close match that could have been won by either team.

The ‘Fogao’ got off to a winning start with a goal by Luiz Henrique in the first half. However, Corinthians tied the match with a goal by Ramón Garro through a penalty kick.

Four minutes later, the Argentine Thiago Almada appeared with a spectacular individual play to score the winning goal.

With this result, Botafogo continues to lead the Brasileirao with 53 points in 26 matches, three points behind Palmeiras and four points behind Fortaleza.

Palmeiras, for their part, put on a show for their fans with a 5-0 win over Criciuma, with a great performance by their youngster star player, Estevao.

Fortaleza were held to a draw by Athletico Paranaense and dropped to third place in the tournament.

Velez reaffirms its leadership in Argentina.

Velez has managed to maintain its leadership for one more matchday in the Argentine League. In this case, the team managed to beat San Lorenzo by the minimum score.

With an early goal by Braian Romero after 4 minutes, Vélez Sarsfield was able to withstand San Lorenzo’s offensive attempts in a very even match in which they were outplayed at several moments.

However, as has been the case throughout this second phase of the league, defensive strength has been extremely important to achieve these three away points.

Romero has established himself as one of the stars of the tournament with his 13 goals. His experience and goal-scoring ability are one of the team’s keys to remain at the top of the table.

With this result, Vélez Sarsfield remains in first place, five points behind Atlético Tucumán, its closest rival.

Latin American Football – Once Caldas pushes Deportivo Cali to the bottom of the table in Colombia.

Moving on to the Colombian League, Once Caldas put on a real show for its fans with a 4-1 win over Deportivo Cali.

An exhibition by Dayro Moreno, who scored two goals, accompanied by two more goals by Cardona and Barrios, orchestrated an almost perfect match for the team coached by Hernán Darío Herrera.

Deportivo Cali, a traditional team of the Colombian league, is not going through a good moment and currently occupies the 17th position in the championship, only two points above the last place.

Once Caldas, on the other hand, is the undisputed leader of the tournament with 23 points, awaiting América de Cali, which has 19 points and two games in hand.

Atlético Nacional, another of its pursuers, had to postpone its match against Junior to a later date.

Cruz Azul, Toluca and Tigres maintain their unbeaten streak in Mexico.

With only 7 games played in the Mexican League, the main candidates for the championship are already beginning to emerge.

Cruz Azul, current leader of the tournament, won 1-2 away against León with goals by Faravelli and Rotondi, against the only goal scored by the Venezuelan Jhonder Cádiz.

Toluca, meanwhile, crushed Tijuana 4-0 with goals from Angulo (2), Ruiz and Fernandes.

Lastly, Tigres remained as a loyal candidate for first place after a hard-fought 1-0 win against Atlético San Luis with a goal by Gorriarán in minute 90+8, after Brunetta was sent off in minute 34′.

Latin American Football Player of the Day: Thiago Almada.

The renowned Argentine player is looking to return to his best level and this matchday he managed to make the difference to lead Botafogo to victory in their duel against Corinthians.

With a spectacular goal and an assist to Luiz Henrique, the player is starting to show the performance expected by the team’s fans.