Argentina secures World Cup spot even before drubbing arch-rivals Brazil 4-1 in World Cup qualifying

Despite missing their talisman Lionel Messi, Argentina thrashed arch-rivals Brazil 4-1 in a World Cup qualifying encounter that had some edge to it, especially after Brazil’s Raphinha had bragged about beating the world champions “on and off the field if they needed to” before the game started. What made the victory sweeter for Argentina was that they also qualified for the FIFA World Cup in 2026, which will be co-hosted next year by the US, Canada and Mexico, before the match against Brazil even kicked off!

Argentina’s qualification happened because of Bolivia’s failure to beat Uruguay in another World Cup qualifying game. That result meant that Argentina will now easily breeze through in South American qualifying to secure one of the continent’s six direct spots for the expanded 48-team World Cup. Argentina were 2-0 up in just 12 minutes. Julián Álvarez, Enzo Fernández, Alexis Mac Allister and Giuliano Simeone scored for the reigning world champions on the night. Brazil got one back via Matheus Cunha.

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Coach Lionel Scaloni has not used Messi, who is 37 years old, in several games with the national team, which have still raises doubts on whether the star will play at the World Cup next year. Messi has an adductor injury. The star forward has not been named in the squad for the two latest matches.

Brazil’s woes mount higher

For Brazil, the defeat marked a fresh blow to their hope of securing a World Cup spot. The South American football giants are in fourth place in continental qualifying with 21 points, 10 behind Argentina but only two behind second-place Ecuador. But Uruguay and Paraguay also have 21 points, so the race to qualify will be tight. This is Brazil’s worst deficit in South American World Cup qualifying history, which piled on the pressure for national team coach Dorival Júnior.

(With inputs from AP)