Entering the match against Venezuela, Brazil is in dire need of 3 points to narrow the gap with the top team Argentina. Despite being the team that controlled the match better with a ball possession rate of up to 67%, Vinicius and his teammates only had 3 shots on target, 5 less than their opponents.
For his part, the 2024 Silver Ball continues to have a goalless match in the national team jersey. In the 62nd minute, Vinicius earned a penalty after being fouled in the penalty area. On the 11m mark, the Real Madrid striker failed to beat the brilliance of goalkeeper Rafael Romo, the unsuccessful rebound shot added to the disappointment.
Despite his impressive form for Real Madrid with 2 hat-tricks in the last 4 matches, Vinicius could not repeat it for the national team. In the last 35 matches playing for Brazil, he has only scored 5 goals. The striker's most recent goal was on June 28 in a 4-1 win over Paraguay in the Copa America group stage.
In contrast to his teammate, Barcelona striker Raphinha had a great free kick to break the deadlock. Unfortunately, Brazil could not maintain the advantage when their opponent equalized just 1 minute into the second half.
The 1-1 draw with Venezuela was not a disappointing result as arch-rivals Argentina surprisingly lost 1-2 to Paraguay.
On a day when superstar Lionel Messi was silent, the defending champion left the field without any points in hand. Argentina quickly opened the scoring in the 11th minute, after Lautaro Martinez ran down and finished coolly.
However, striker Antonio Sanabria's comeback motorbike and the powerful header of center back Alderete extinguished all hopes of Argentina getting points. With only 2 shots on target in the entire match, Paraguay completely eliminated the opponent.
Messi and his teammates, despite creating a superior game with 77% possession and 9 shots, only 1 of them was on target by striker Martinez. The inexplicable lack of luck of the attack made coach Lionel Scaloni and his team regretfully accept defeat.
This was Argentina's third loss in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, after losing 0-2 to Uruguay and 1-2 to Colombia, in Argentina's qualifiers. Currently, the defending champion is still leading with 22 points, but only three points ahead of the second-placed team Colombia and has played one more match.
According to the regulations, 6 teams in the South American region will win tickets to the final round, while the 7th place team will have to compete for tickets with representatives from other continents.
