2026 World Cup qualifiers: Marquinhos saves Brazil

Overnight, several South American teams were on deck. Brazil beat Peru thanks to Marquinhos (1-0), while Argentina got the better of Bolivia (3-0).

Last night, France lost 2-1 to Germany in a friendly. A prestige match with no major stakes. This was not the case for the South American teams who played during the night. Brazil played Peru as part of the qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup. The Seleção struggled to cope with a rather tough opponent. In the first half, the Brazilians thought they had opened the scoring thanks to Richarlison.

But the Tottenham player was flagged offside after consulting the video assistance system for more than 5 minutes. It was not until the end of the match that the Auriverde internationals found the net. Following a Neymar corner, Marquinhos headed home in the 90th minute (1-0). The win keeps Brazil on course for another victory and keeps them top of the group on goal difference ahead of Argentina.

The Albiceleste were also in action last night. Without Lionel Messi, who was rested, Lionel Scaloni’s men ran riot against Bolivia in La Paz. In particular, they were able to count on the in-form Angel Di Maria. The Benfica player provided two assists. The first was to Enzo Fernandez for the opening goal in the 31st minute (1-0). He then set up Lyon’s Nicolas Tagliafico, who doubled the lead on 42 minutes (2-0).

Finally, the 2022 world champions ended the evening on a high with one last goal. It came from Nico Gonzalez (3-0, 83rd), who was ideally served by Exequiel Palacios. It was a perfect evening for Argentina. Like Brazil, Argentina are top of their group in these 2026 World Cup qualifiers. South America’s top teams are well and truly in the mix.

Francis QUAM