Twice champion and 2014 runner-up Argentina is in serious danger of failing to reach the 2018 World Cup finals after being held to a 0-0 draw by Peru on Thursday.
Lionel Messi’s side is on 25 points in sixth place in the 10-team South American group, with only the top four teams qualifying automatically for Russia. Messi hit the post in the second half but could only watch in frustration after serving up a stream of chances for teammates who failed to convert.
The fifth-placed side, currently Peru, qualifies for a playoff against Oceania champions New Zealand.
Argentina visits Ecuador at high altitude in Quito in the final round of matches on Tuesday while Peru, which is hoping to go to the finals for the first time in 36 years, hosts Colombia in Lima.
Uruguay (28) needs just a draw from its final game against Bolivia to advance. Chile is third with Colombia fourth, both on 26 points.
But with only two points separating Chile and seventh-placed Paraguay, the final standings could change dramatically depending on results on Tuesday.
In Europe, defending champion Germany clinched a place with a 3-1 win in Northern Ireland, while England beat Slovenia 1-0 to secure its berth.
Germany, the four-time world champion, also maintained its proud unbeaten away record in World Cup qualifiers — a run spanning an incredible 47 matches dating back to 1934.
Harry Kane continued his stunning goalscoring form with a 94th-minute winner as an unimpressive England overcame Slovenia at Wembley.
The results: South America: Bolivia 0 drew with Brazil 0; Venezuela 0 drew with Uruguay 0; Chile 2 (Vargas 22, Sanchez 85) bt Ecuador 1 (Ibarra 82); Colombia 1 (Falcao 79) lost to Paraguay 2 (Cardozo 89, Sanabria 90+1); Argentina 0 drew with Peru 0.
Europe: Group C: Azerbaijan 1 (Ismailov 55-pen) lost to Czech Republic 2 (Kopic 35, Barak 66); Northern Ireland 1 (Magennis 90+3) lost to Germany 3 (Rudy 2, Wagner 21, Kimmich 86); San Marino 0 lost to Norway 8 (Henriksen 8, King 14-pen, 17, Elyounoussi 39, 48, 68, Selnaes 58, Linnes 86).
Group E: Armenia 1 (Hambardzumyan 39) lost to Poland 6 (Grosicki 2, Lewandowski 18, 25, 64, Blaszczykowski 58, Wolski 89); Montenegro 0 lost to Denmark 1 (Eriksen 16); Romania 3 (Budescu 33, 38-pen, Keseru 73) bt Kazakhstan 1 (Turysbek 82).
Group F: England 1 (Kane 90+4) bt Slovenia 0; Malta 1 (Agius 23) drew with Lithuania 1 (Slivka 53); Scotland 1 (Skrtel 89-og) bt Slovakia 0.