Argentina firmly leads the rankings, Brazil ranks sixth

Nicolas Otamendi shone with the only goal to help Argentina beat Brazil in a high-pressure match at the Maracanã Stadium in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America.

Vòng loại World Cup 2026 khu vực Nam Mỹ: Đội tuyển Argentina vững vàng dẫn đầu bảng xếp hạng, Brazil xếp thứ sáu

Nicolas Otamendi (left) scores for Argentina. (Source: Getty Images)

The South American classic between Brazil and Argentina in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers did not go as expected. Instead of witnessing beautiful football, fans saw overly aggressive plays from the players of both teams.

Closing the tense match at Maracanã stadium, the Argentine team was filled with joy with a 1-0 victory thanks to a goal by central defender Nicolas Otamendi in the 63rd minute.

The tension of the match was heightened right before the match started when a riot broke out in the stands between fans of the two teams, causing the match to be postponed for nearly 30 minutes.

And when the match started, the developments on the field made people even more worried about a match full of flamboyance expected from South American players from two traditionally rich countries Brazil and Argentina.

Consecutive clashes on the field between players of the two teams forced Chilean referee Piero Maza Gomez to issue three yellow cards in the first half to Brazilian players Gabriel Jesus, Raphinha and Carlos Augusto.

The second half was more exciting with the players "concentrating" on playing the ball and creating many dangerous opportunities towards each other's goals.

Brazil created more pressure but could not convert it into a goal and even let their opponent take advantage to score the only goal of the match.

In the 63rd minute, from a corner kick, Giovani Lo Celso crossed the ball just in time for Otamendi to jump high and head the ball, "knocked out" goalkeeper Alisson Becker.

Having conceded the goal, Brazil fought back but could not make a difference. Not only that, they had to play with 10 men on the field since the 82nd minute when Joelinton received a straight red card for a foul on Rodrigo De Paul.

With this result, the Brazilian team had to go through the fourth consecutive match without knowing victory, including 3 consecutive defeats, thereby falling to sixth with 7 points after 6 matches played.

Previously, coach Fernando Diniz Silva's team was held to a draw by Venezuela at home, then lost to Uruguay and Colombia.

Meanwhile, the Argentina team found joy again after losing to Uruguay, continuing to top the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America with 15 points.

Also in the sixth match, the Uruguay team defeated Bolivia 3-0 thanks to a double from Darwin Nunez and an own goal from Gabriel Villamil on the opponent's side.

With this victory, the Uruguay team has 13 points, firmly standing in second place in the 2026 World Cup qualifying round in South America at the end of 2023.

Colombia finished third with 12 points after a 1-0 away win over Paraguay. Rafael Borre scored the only goal from the penalty spot in the 11th minute of the match.

Ecuador beat Chile 1-0 thanks to Mena's goal to move up to fifth in the standings.

Meanwhile, the Peru team still does not know what victory is when they only got a 1-1 draw in the home match against Venezuela.