Brazil and Argentina Face Defeats in World Cup Qualifying Matches

Brazil experienced their fourth loss in five World Cup qualifying games with a 1-0 defeat to Paraguay. Meanwhile, Argentina was beaten 2-1 by Colombia in the latest qualifying fixtures for the 2026 World Cup.

In Asuncion, Inter Miami's Diego Gomez scored the decisive goal for Paraguay after 20 minutes, while Brazil failed to register a shot on target in the first half. The Brazilian lineup included Liverpool's Alisson, Newcastle's Bruno Guimaraes, and West Ham's Lucas Paqueta, with Real Madrid's Rodrygo, Endrick, and Vinicius Jr leading the attack.

Vinicius Jr addressed Brazilian TV channel Globo, saying, "I want to apologize to the fans, I know it's a difficult time, but we just want to improve." Despite scoring over 20 goals per season for Real Madrid in the last three years, Vinicius has only netted five goals in 35 appearances for Brazil and did not score at the 2022 World Cup. "I know my potential, what I can do for the national team," he added. "Of course, it's been a very complicated process because when you don't have confidence, you don't get goals."

Following the defeat, Brazil remains fifth in the qualifying table, having won only three of their eight games. Manager Dorival Jr, appointed in January, saw his side exit the Copa America in the quarter-finals. Defender Marquinhos commented to Globo, "The coach is still figuring out the best way for us to play and that's reflected in the result. There are a lot of new players, we are lacking confidence. Qualifying isn't easy, it's a difficult time and we have to know how to manage it. It's a time of transition, we're not feeling confident. We're going to work hard, getting results on the pitch is the best answer."

In a rematch of the Copa America final, Argentina, without Lionel Messi, lost to Colombia. James Rodriguez, formerly of Real Madrid and Everton, scored the winning penalty for Colombia, who sought revenge for their Copa America final loss to Argentina. Rodriguez, now with Rayo Vallecano, assisted Wolves' Yerson Mosquera in scoring the opener with a header in the 25th minute in Barranquilla. Argentina's Nicolas Gonzalez equalized three minutes after halftime, but Nicolas Otamendi's foul on Crystal Palace's Daniel Munoz led to a penalty awarded after a VAR review. Rodriguez converted the penalty in the 60th minute, sending Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez the wrong way. Rodriguez remarked, "I don't think I've ever scored against them - there's a first time for everything. We want to get used to playing finals. Today was just another game, but against a team that has won everything - this victory tastes even better."

Elsewhere, Manchester United's Manuel Ugarte, who joined from Paris St-Germain, started for Uruguay in their 0-0 draw against Venezuela. Argentina remains atop the 10-team table, two points ahead of second-placed Colombia. The top six teams will qualify automatically after 18 rounds of fixtures, which will continue until September 2025, while the seventh-placed team will enter an intercontinental play-off.

In Asia's World Cup qualifiers, Australia drew 0-0 with Indonesia on Tuesday, following a 1-0 home loss to Bahrain in their previous match. Japan, also in Australia's group, achieved a 5-0 victory over Bahrain with Premier League players Wataru Endo (Liverpool), Kaoru Mitoma (Brighton), and Daichi Kamada (Crystal Palace) starting. South Korea secured their first win in World Cup 2026 qualifying, defeating Oman 3-1, with goals from Tottenham's Son Heung-min and Wolves' Hwang Hee-chan.