As South American qualifying for the 2026 World Cup resumes with the final two rounds of matches this year, Argentina and Brazil will welcome back two of their key players.
Defending World Cup champions Argentina will have goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez back in action, after serving a two-match suspension in October. Meanwhile, Brazil will welcome back winger Vinícius Júnior, who missed the last two qualifiers due to injury but has now fully recovered.
Argentina, currently leading the South American standings, will face Paraguay on Thursday, while fourth-place Brazil will play against Venezuela shortly afterward.
Also on Thursday, host Ecuador and Bolivia will face off in Guayaquil.
The 11th round of South American 2026 World Cup qualifiers is set to feature one of the most anticipated matchups on Friday in Montevideo, where third-place Uruguay will host second-place Colombia. In another clash, the bottom two teams in the standings, Peru and Chile, will face off on the same day.
Next Tuesday, in the 12th round of qualifiers, all teams will return to action. Argentina will host Peru, while Brazil will play at home against Uruguay.
Currently, Argentina leads the standings with 22 points, three ahead of Colombia. Uruguay and Brazil are tied for third and fourth place with 16 points each. Ecuador and Paraguay, both with 13 points, round out the top six, securing direct qualification spots for the 2026 World Cup.
Bolivia has 12 points, and its seventh place would qualify the Andean team for an international playoff. Venezuela (11), Peru (6) and Chile (5) complete the standings.
Brazilian coach Dorival Júnior’s position was somewhat stabilized in October after securing two wins in World Cup qualifying against Chile and Peru, though Vinícius Júnior did not feature in either match.
With the focus now on Vinícius, fans will be watching closely as he faces tough defenses in Brazil’s upcoming matches against Venezuela and Uruguay, hoping he can replicate his decisive performances for Real Madrid on the international stage.
Brazil will once again be without Neymar, who is sidelined with a muscular injury, and there is no standout center forward available, as Rodrygo is also injured and Endrick was not selected. Vinícius will likely need to form a strong attacking partnership with Raphinha and Luiz Henrique.
Brazil’s opponents are also in a state of flux. Venezuela is struggling with six consecutive qualifiers without a win, while Uruguay's coach Marcelo Bielsa continues to face criticism from former players over his management of the team.
Although two wins will not guarantee Brazil a spot in the 2026 World Cup, they will offer much-needed reassurance to both fans and players after a challenging year.
(Source: UNB)
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