Qualification for the 2026 World Cup: Argentina stumbles against Venezuela and Brazil bounces back

The Albiceleste were held to a 1-1 draw by Venezuela in the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup in Mexico, the United States and Canada. A duel whose chief protagonist was the pitch due to its poor condition, which provoked criticism from the Argentine side.

"It was unplayable. We did what we had to do, but the conditions of the field were not for a spectacle of two teams of the level of this," said Lionel Scaloni, Argentina's technical director.

Nicolás Otamendi gave Argentina the lead in the 13th minute, taking advantage of a rebound by the Venezuelan goalkeeper to send the ball into the back of the net.

In the second half came the equalizer. There was 65 minutes on the clock when forward Salomón Rondón, scored the only goal for the Vinotinto thanks to an impeccable header.

With this draw, Argentina continues to lead the qualification for the 2026 World Cup with 19 points, while the Venezuelan team is in seventh place.

Brazil halts its bad momentum

After losing surprisingly in the last match against Paraguay, the Canarinha managed to bounce back by beating Chile 1-2 away. A victory that came in the closing stages of the match.

"We don't have the structure we had in the last World Cup. And that makes it a little more difficult to find a balance between the youth of some and the experience of others," said Brazil coach Dorival Junior.

Only two minutes into the game when Eduardo Vargas put the home side ahead with a header that came after a good team move by the Chilean team.

However, before the referee called off the first half, striker Igor da Cruz lowered the Chilean euphoria with a headed goal as well. His teammate Luiz Henrique sealed the victory for the Canarinha in the 89th minute.

Brazil climb to fourth place in the standings. For its part, Chile is close to being out of the World Cup for the third consecutive edition: it has only managed 5 out of a possible 27 points.