1 - That's the number of goals Paraguay scored in their previous seven World Cup qualifying matches. It’s an almost absurd figure. The team collected six points, winning one game 1-0 and drawing three matches goalless. On the other hand, they conceded only three goals (the fewest among all ten teams!) and were ranked eighth in the table.
Brazil’s Sensational Defeat
In the eighth round, Paraguay faced Brazil, who have been underperforming in these qualifiers. This is the same Brazil that won the qualifiers six years ago with 41 points in 18 matches, and two years ago with 45 points in 17 games. However, after seven rounds in the current campaign, Brazil had only 10 points and sat in fourth place, trailing Argentina by a staggering eight points.
In the night from Tuesday to Wednesday (Polish time), Brazil disappointed once again. In the 20th minute, Diego Gomez, a teammate of Leo Messi and Luis Suarez at Inter Miami, scored a stunning goal from 18 meters. As it turned out, this was the only goal of the match! Paraguay celebrated a sensational 1-0 victory. Brazil’s stars from Real Madrid—Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, and the young 18-year-old Endrick—couldn’t help. Endrick was even substituted at halftime. Brazil struggled offensively, managing only three shots on target (seven in total, the same as their opponents).
This was Brazil’s fourth defeat in these qualifiers. For comparison, between 2003 and 2022, Brazil lost only five times in 71 qualifying matches!
After this defeat, Brazil dropped to fifth place, with just one point more than seventh-placed Paraguay, who would currently be in the playoff spot. Although there are still ten rounds left in the qualifiers, Brazil is dangerously close to a catastrophe: missing out on the World Cup!
In another qualifying match, table-topping Argentina lost 1-2 away to Colombia. The hosts took the lead in the 25th minute with a goal from Yerson Mosquera. Nicolas Gonzalez equalized in the 48th minute, but the winning goal for Colombia came in the 60th minute, scored by 33-year-old James Rodriguez, the top scorer of the 2014 World Cup.
All results from the 8th round:
- Colombia 2-1 Argentina
- Chile 1-2 Bolivia
- Ecuador 1-0 Peru
- Venezuela 0-0 Uruguay
- Paraguay 1-0 Brazil
Table:
- Argentina – 8 games, 18 points, goals: 12:4
- Colombia – 8 games, 16 points, goals: 9:5
- Uruguay – 8 games, 15 points, goals: 13:5
- Ecuador – 8 games, 11 points, goals: 6:4
- Brazil – 8 games, 10 points, goals: 9:8
- Venezuela – 8 games, 10 points, goals: 6:7
- Paraguay – 8 games, 9 points, goals: 2:3
- Bolivia – 8 games, 9 points, goals: 10:15
- Chile – 8 games, 5 points, goals: 4:12
- Peru – 8 games, 3 points, goals: 2:10
The top six teams will qualify for the 2026 World Cup. The seventh-placed team will compete in the playoffs.
