In one of those counters, Danilo brought the ball to Ribeiro on the edge of the box. He passed to Neymar in front of goalkeeper Claudio Bravo, but the striker missed his opportunity. Ribeiro had the rebound to get the only goal of the match in the 64th minute.
Chile kept most of the ball possession, but did not offer much risk to Weverton until the end of the match.
Asked about Sunday's clasico, Ribeiro said it will not be a rematch after Argentina's 1-0 victory at the Maracana Stadium in July's Copa America final. “But it will be a historic match, facing Argentina is always tough,” he said.
Brazil defender Marquinhos was booked near the end and is suspended for the match against Argentina. Tite will pick either veteran Miranda or newcomer Lucas Verissimo as replacement.
VENEZUELA 1-3 ARGENTINA
The Copa America champions played with a man advantage after 32 minutes when defender Venezuelan Adrián Martinez was sent off after a harsh tackle on Messi.
Lautaro Martinez opened the scoring in first-half stoppage time, assisted by Giovanni Lo Celso. Joaquin Correa doubled the lead in the 71st minute from the edge of the box after a quick exchange with Messi and Lautaro. Ángel Correa netted the third from close range three minutes later.
Argentina's victory was clinched when Soteldo scored for the hosts from the spot.
"Today we had a great first half and they were down one," Lautaro said. “After we scored we managed to work with more gaps so we could bring the three points home."
Had Argentina lost at Venezuela it would have been overtaken by Ecuador, who beat Paraguay 2-0 hours earlier. Felix Torres scored the first goal in the 88th minute with a header. Michael Estrada netted his in added time. Argentina has 15 points and Ecuador 12 in third place.
Ecuador will host Chile in the next round, while sixth-place Paraguay is to take on fifth-place Colombia, which has nine points after securing a 1-1 draw with Bolivia in the altitude of La Paz.
Roger Martinez's goal in the 69th minute gave Colombia the lead before Fernando Saucedo's blast from outside the box leveled for eighth-place Bolivia in the 83rd minute.
Also on Thursday, Peru and Uruguay drew 1-1 in Lima. The hosts opened the scoring with Renato Tapia in the 24th minute with a bicycle kick. But Giorgian de Arrascaeta kept the Uruguayans in contention with a goal in the 29th minute, despite the absence of injured Luis Suárez and Edinson Cavani, who was not released by Manchester United.
In other matches Sunday, Uruguay will host Bolivia. Peru will take on Venezuela. (AP)