Enzo Perez covers for Argentina's injured Lanzini

Bangladesh have fallen two places to 186th in the FIFA rankings, the latest published on Thursday, while reigning world champions Argentina retain their top position despite a 2-1 defeat to Colombia.

Eager to improve their standing, Bangladesh faced Bhutan in two recent friendlies during the FIFA window. However, Javier Cabrera's side secured a narrow 1-0 victory in the first match on September 05 before suffering to a defeat by same margin three days later.

The top ten positions remain unchanged, with Argentina leading the pack, followed by France, Spain, England, Brazil, Belgium, the Netherlands, Portugal, Colombia, and Italy.

Argentina denied reports Friday that players want coach Jorge Sampaoli sacked before their final World Cup group game against Nigeria after a humbling 3-0 defeat by Croatia.

"It's absolutely false," read a statement from an Argentine team official.

"All that has been said about a players' meeting or anything else, it is all false," the source added.

Following Thursday's match, there were reports in both local and international media of a rift between Argentina players and the coaching staff.

It was also suggested that 1986 World Cup winner Jorge Burruchaga, the team's technical director, would take charge for Tuesday's must-win game against Nigeria.

"They want to sack Sampaoli, bring in Burruchaga and follow Spain's example," Ricardo Caruso Lombardi, who has coached several Argentine clubs, said on Thursday.

Spain dismissed coach Julen Lopetegui on the eve of the World Cup after Real Madrid announced he would replace Zinedine Zidane at the Santiago Bernabeu following the tournament.

Argentina suffered their heaviest first round group-stage defeat at the World Cup since 1958 against Croatia, leaving them on the brink of elimination after an opening 1-1 draw with Iceland.

Alexis Mac Allister, Julian Alvarez and Paulo Dybala were on target as Argentina tightened their grip on South America's 2026 World Cup qualifying tournament with a 3-0 win over Chile on Thursday.

Liverpool midfielder Mac Allister swept in a low finish three minutes after half-time to break the deadlock at the Estadio Monumental in Buenos Aires against a defensive Chile side.

Former Manchester City striker Alvarez doubled the lead in the 84th minute with a thumping shot from outside the area before substitute Dybala put the seal on the victory with a late strike in stoppage time.

It was another clinical victory for the reigning world champions, who are now cruising towards confirming their place at the 2026 finals being staged in the United States, Mexico and Canada.

Lionel Scaloni's team lead South America's 10-team round-robin qualifying table by five points after seven games.

The top six teams in the final standings qualify automatically for the 2026 finals in North America with the seventh-placed team advancing to a playoff.

Argentina, who also beat Chile 1-0 on their way to clinching back-to-back Copa America titles earlier this year, went into Thursday's game missing injured captain Lionel Messi and veteran winger Angel Di Maria, who retired from international football after the Copa America triumph in July.

Di Maria was feted by his former teammates at a pre-game ceremony before taking his place in the stands to watch the world champions secure their sixth win from seven qualifying games.

Despite the absence of Messi and Di Maria, Argentina had plenty of creative guile in attack with Lautaro Martinez and Atletico Madrid's Alvarez causing problems for the Chile defense.

Argentina, meanwhile, controlled midfield with Mac Allister lining up alongside Rodrigo De Paul and Enzo Fernandez.

After a cagey first-half, the breakthrough came in the 48th minute when Alvarez whipped in a low cross from the right.

Martinez dummied cleverly and allowed the ball to roll through to Mac Allister, who guided an accurate shot into the bottom corner.

- Bolivia thrash Venezuela -

In Thursday's other qualifier, Bolivia reignited their campaign with a 4-0 drubbing over Venezuela in a game played more than 4,000m (13,100 feet) above sea level.

Goals from Ramiro Vaca, Carmelo Algaranaz, Miguel Terceros and Enzo Monteiro handed Bolivia only their second win of qualifying and lifted them into seventh place in the standings.

The result was a vindication of Bolivia's move to play Thursday's game in El Alto -- Spanish for "The Heights" -- rather than at their usual home venue in neighboring La Paz, which is 3,600m above sea level.

The thin air of El Alto clearly left Venezuela's players struggling for energy against a Bolivian team aiming to qualify for their first World Cup since reaching the 1994 finals in the United States.

Despite his team's heavy loss, Venezuela coach Fernando Batista refused to dwell on the altitude issue after the game.

"Out of 10 questions, eight are about altitude," Batista said. "You won't hear anything from me about it."

The pick of Bolivia's goals came from Vaca after just 13 minutes.

The 25-year-old midfielder gathered the ball around 30 yards from goal, cut in from the left and unleashed a ferocious shot which flew into the top corner.

Venezuela, the only team from South America never to have qualified for a World Cup, remain well-placed to reach the finals despite Thursday's loss.

The 'Vinotinto' are fourth in the standings with nine points from seven games, trailing Argentina, Uruguay and Colombia.

Venezuela host Uruguay next Tuesday in their eighth game of qualifying.

South America's qualifiers continue on Friday with second-placed Uruguay hosting Paraguay in Montevideo while struggling Brazil, who are 11 points adrift of leaders Argentina in sixth, face Ecuador in Curitiba.

Third-placed Colombia, meanwhile, travel to Lima to face bottom-of-the-table Peru.

Argentina striker Lautaro Martinez has now scored in three consecutive games for his side, repaying the trust of his coach Lionel Scaloni. His latest exploits helped the defending champions secure a 2-0 win against Peru in Copa America's Group A fixture on Saturday.

With captain Lionel Messi sidelined, recovering from a thigh injury, Martinez featured in the starting lineup for the first time in the competition after having come off the bench to score against Canada and Chile.

It's a huge relief for the Inter Milan marksman, who had experienced a miserable 18 months—from a pre-World Cup fixture in 2022 to this year's March—without scoring for La Albiceleste. The only time he came close to scoring in Argentina's title-winning run in Qatar was against Saudi Arabia, but the goal was ruled out for offside.

"I'm happy because I was able to score in the three group-stage games and because I was able to help the team, which is what counts," Martinez told TyC Sports.

"I felt ready to get rid of the thorn from the World Cup. That was important for me, to prepare well for the Copa America, which I did and I'm showing it. Let's keep working," added the 26-year-old.

Apparently, coach Scaloni knew all along that it was a matter of time for Martinez to rediscover his scoring boots. Just days after he ended the long-standing goal drought by scoring against Costa Rica in a FIFA friendly, Scaloni had said, "The truth is that it [Martinez's goal drought] doesn't worry me" after Argentina won 3-0 against El Salvador.

As it stands for Argentina in Copa America, the Group A champions are through to the quarter finals. 

An Argentinian club drew the ire of the country's football community  after selecting an influencer with no professional experience in its starting XI for a top-flight match.

Deportivo Riestra selected a streamer known as "Spreen" for their match against Primera Division leaders Velez Sarsfield on Monday, before substituting the 24-year-old off after 78 seconds. He had  not touched the ball.

"Spreen" -- the pseudonym of Argentine influencer Ivan Buhajeruk -- has some 15 million followers on his social media channels, including more than nine million on Twitch.

Riestra's post on X announcing Spreen's presence in their lineup racked up 3.4 million views, compared to the several thousand for a typical match.

Football figures in Argentina have lambasted the club.

Juan Sebastian Veron, the former Manchester United and Argentina midfielder and current president of Estudiantes de La Plata, condemned a "total lack of respect for football and footballers".

Velez striker Braian Romero also spoke of a "lack of respect towards football", as well as a "bad message sent to society, to children, to those who try until the end" to break into the sport.

Riestra captain Milton Celiz said: "He's a friend of the club, he has a contract... let him enjoy it, everyone would like to play in the first division."

But Celiz added that he "understands the criticism", though the decision was "not our responsibility (as players), it's a matter for the owners (of the club)".

"At no time was it our intention to disrespect Club Atletico de Velez Sarsfield or Argentinian football," Riestra said in a statement, also pointing out that Velez had been informed of the initiative the week before the match.

"Our objective was (and is) to attract new audiences to football, to build bridges between different worlds and platforms, to continue strengthening the product (football) and our club, which is experiencing a historic moment in the First Division."

Riestra were promoted to the top flight last season after climbing five divisions in the last 10 years.

The Argentinian Football Association (AFA) has asked its ethics committee to investigate "possible conduct that could damage Argentinian football's reputation for integrity".