Story highlights Argentina draw 0-0 at home to Peru

Late Paraguay, Chile winners leave Messi on the brink

(CNN) On the face of it, as the clock ticked towards 90 minutes inside Boca Juniors' iconic La Bombonera, Argentina's goalless draw against Peru didn't seem too bad.

Argentina, with Lionel Messi at the heart of every move, had tried desperately to get their World Cup qualifying campaign back on track, but struggled to create against a resolute Peru team which had arrived in Buenos Aires with a clear and effective game plan.

Both sides had hit the woodwork and some sublime Messi footwork in the first half saw him evade his marker and curl a shot millimeters wide of the post.

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With Ecuador scoring a late equalizer against Chile in Santiago and Paraguay doing likewise against Colombia, Argentina would head into the final match -- away to Ecuador -- with high hopes of qualifying automatically for Russia 2018.

But within the space of five chaotic minutes, Argentina's World Cup fate fell out of their own hands and into those of their South American rivals.

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