Going into the match against Venezuela, Brazil desperately needed 3 points to close the gap with the top team Argentina. Despite being the team that controlled the match better with a 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 continued to have a goalless match for the national team. In the 62nd minute, Vinicius earned a penalty after being fouled in the penalty area. On the 11m mark, the Real Madrid striker could not beat the brilliance of goalkeeper Rafael Romo, the subsequent unsuccessful rebound added to the disappointment.
Despite his impressive form for Real Madrid, with two hat-tricks in his last four games, Vinicius has failed to replicate that form for Brazil. In his last 35 games for Brazil, he has scored just five goals. His most recent strike came 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 superb free kick to break the deadlock. Unfortunately, Brazil could not maintain their advantage as their opponents equalized just 1 minute into the second half.
A 1-1 draw against 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 reigning champions left the field without a point. Argentina quickly got the opening goal in the 11th minute, after Lautaro Martinez ran down and finished coolly.
However, striker Antonio Sanabria's bicycle kick and defender Alderete's powerful header extinguished Argentina's hopes of scoring. With only two shots on target in the entire match, Paraguay completely finished off their opponents.
Messi and his teammates created a dominant game with 77% ball possession and 9 shots, but only 1 was on target by striker Martinez. The inexplicable lack of luck from the attack made coach Lionel Scaloni and his team reluctantly accept defeat.
This is Argentina's third defeat in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, after losing 0-2 to Uruguay and 1-2 to Colombia, in Argentina's qualifiers. The defending champions are still leading with 22 points, but are only three points ahead of second-placed Colombia and have played one more game.
According to the rules, 6 teams in the South American region will get tickets directly to the final round, while the 7th ranked team will have to compete for a play-off ticket with representatives from another continent.
