Argentina and Colombia both had players sent off tonight as their bad-tempered World Cup qualifier ended in a goalless draw.

The hosts opted not to risk talisman Lionel Messi for the crunch clash, with the Barcelona forward left on the bench with a hamstring complaint.

Colombia started brightly and thought they had taken the lead through Jackson Martinez, but his powerful strike from close range was ruled out for offside.

A tight match was changed completely on 26 minutes as Gonzalo Higuain and Cristian Zapata were both dismissed following an altercation in the penalty area.

Higuain appeared to kick out at the central defender as he chased down a long ball inside the penalty area, but Zapata was first to go for retaliating to the strike.

After heated protests from the entire Colombian side Higuain eventually joined Zapata in receiving a red card, with each team forced to play with 10 men for more than an hour.

Both sides had chances as the game opened up in the second half, with Radamel Falcao firing a free kick over from just outside the penalty area.

Sergio Aguero then had a goal disallowed for offside, with Argentina eventually sending Messi on with around 60 minutes gone in the match.

Messi's clever stepover then looked to have finally helped the hosts break the deadlock, but as Aguero bundled home from close range the assistant once again raised his flag for offside.

Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina kept Messi at bay in the closing stages, earning his side a hard-fought point.