Overview
After winning two consecutive victories during FIFA Days in October, Brazil disappointed again when they were held to a draw by Venezuela in the most recent match of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America.
Coach Dorival Junior's team opened the scoring first but let their opponents equalize early in the second half. In the remaining time, Selecao appeared deadlocked and accepted to share the points. Brazil is currently fourth in the rankings with 17 points, 5 points behind the leader Argentina.
Uruguay have also shown inconsistent form recently. The 3-2 victory over Colombia was the only time coach Marcelo Bielsa's team won in 6 matches since the 2024 Copa America (D4, L1). Uruguay is currently ranked 2nd in the qualifying round with 19 points.
Going into the upcoming battle, both Brazil and Uruguay have their own advantages. In terms of force, if Selecao owns stars Vinicius, Raphinha, Bruno Guimaraes or Savinho, Uruguay also has Valverde, Darwin Nunez, Bentacur or Manuel Ugarte.
Brazil have the home advantage, having won their last two games against Ecuador and Peru, scoring five goals and keeping a clean sheet. Meanwhile, Uruguay have beaten Brazil in both of their last two encounters, winning in the first leg of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers and the quarter-finals of the 2024 Copa America.
So this will be a evenly matched match. Brazil are improving their form but are not consistent. Their stars have not been able to continue their form at club level. Moreover, both Brazil and Uruguay have had many draws recently.
Human resources situation
Defensive turmoil had a negative impact on Brazil's play in the draw with Venezuela, so Dorival will likely have to return to experienced players.
On the other side of the front line, Bielsa will have the best players. However, the worrying thing for Uruguay is that Nunez and Valverde are not in good form.
Expected lineup:
Brazil: Ederson, Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Abner, Gerson, Guimaraes, Savinho, Raphinha, Vinicius, Igor Jesus.
Uruguay: Rochet, Nandez, Gimenez, Olivera, Saracchi, Ugarte, Valverde, Pellistri, Aguirre, Araujo, Nunez.
The match between Brazil and Uruguay takes place at 7:45 a.m. on November 20 (Vietnam time).
