Argentina midfielder Javier Mascherano has offered no excuses for his side following their 3-0 World Cup qualifying defeat to Brazil on Thursday.

Goals from Philippe Coutinho, Neymar and Paulinho handed Brazil a comfortable victory in Belo Horizonte, and the result leaves La Albiceleste in sixth position in the standings, with only the top four teams automatically qualifying for the finals in Russia.

Edgardo Bauza’s men have now failed to win any of their last four qualifying matches, losing the last two, and Barcelona ace Mascherano believes there are no excuses for his side’s poor form, and they must turn things around sooner rather than later.

He said: “We have to work on everything that we need to work on. We can’t make excuses. It’s a situation that we can’t lie to ourselves about. We have to get out of it ourselves.”

Argentina face a potentially pivotal match against Colombia on home soil on Tuesday night and Mascherano knows his side must lift themselves for the clash at the Estadio San Juan del Bicentenario.

“Obviously things have to change. We have to deal with these days and find a way to lift ourselves up,” he added.

The two-time world champions were beaten finalists in the tournament two years ago, losing 1-0 to Germany after extra time, and they are priced at 8.50 to go on and win the competition in 2018.