The five-time world champions lost to current trophy holders and main rivals at the legendary Maracani.
Another confrontation between the national teams of Argentina and Brazil turned into a scandal. The teams met in the sixth round of the group round of qualifying for the 2026 World Cup.
The game took place at the legendary Maracanã Stadium, where events began to go beyond the limit even before the kick-off whistle. During the playing of the national anthems, a clash broke out in the away sector, which was surrounded by Brazil fans without proper demarcation. The local police intervened in the situation and began to indiscriminately beat the Argentina fans with batons. In response, the broken chairs were sent to the police.
Law enforcement officials beat Argentina fans
Players from the national teams of Argentina and Brazil tried to calm the fight
Argentina national team players and Brazil captain Marquinhos rushed to calm both sides. However, it was not possible to resolve the conflict, then Argentina captain Lionel Messi announced that they would not play and decided to take the team to the locker room.
Impressive la imagen de Messi pidiendo a sus compañeros de Argentina que se vayan al dressingario, que así no van jugar…
¡¡All parado en Maracaná!! pic.twitter.com/FKlAa8Cghg #EliminatoriasSudamericanas
— MARCA (@marca) November 22, 2023
When the passions subsided, Argentina returned to the field, and the match started almost half an hour late.
The match itself ended with a slight victory for the Argentines thanks to an effective strike from Nicolas Otamendi, who headed in a corner kick in the 63rd minute. The Brazilians ended the match shorthanded after Joelinton was sent off.
World Cup 2026. Qualification. November 22
Brazil – Argentina – 0:1
Goal: Otamendi 63
Booked: Jesus 5, Rafinha 14, Augusto 33
Departure: Joelinton 82.
Brazil: Alisson, Emerson, Marquinhos (Nino 46), Gabriel (Jolinton 72), Carlos Augusto, Bruno Guimaraes (Douglas Louis 78), Andre, Rafinha (Endrik 72), Rodrigo, Martinelli (Rafael Jesus.
Argentina: Martinez, Molina, Otamendi, Romero, Acuña (Tagliafico 66), Lo Celso (Gonzalez 70), Mac Allister, De Paul, Fernandez (Paredes 70), Messi (Di Maria 78), Alvarez (Martinez) 78).
According to Globo Esporte, this is Brazil’s first home loss in World Cup qualifying. Before this, the Brazilians were the only American team undefeated at home in qualifying for the world championships.
Brazil has now played 65 home matches in US World Cup qualifiers. In their previous 64 matches, the Selecao won 51 times and drew 13 times, scoring 173 goals and conceding 29.
In addition, Brazil lost three matches in a row for the first time in World Cup qualification history.
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Source: korrespondent
I am William Jackson and I have a passion for sports journalism. With over 3 years of experience in the industry, I have worked in a variety of roles to improve the quality and accuracy of sports news coverage. As an author at Athletistic, I specialize in covering football news and providing comprehensive analysis for fans around the world.
