On the day Messi played poorly, Argentina still had a victory over Brazil in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers for South America.

Brazil will host Argentina in the 6th match of the 2026 World Cup qualifying round in South America.

Right before the match, a riot broke out in the Maracana stadium in the Argentinian fans’ area. After nearly 30 minutes of delay, when the situation in the stands was controlled, the match officially started.

In the first half, neither Brazil nor Argentina created many scoring opportunities. Many times the referee had to pause the match after strong collisions between players of the two teams.

In this half, Brazil launched 4 shots, only 1 of which hit the target but did not result in a goal. Argentina did not even have a single shot on target during the first 45 minutes of play. The first half ended with a 0-0 draw.

Messi faded on the Maracana field (Photo: Getty)

In the second half, the two teams continued to maintain an attacking stance. The turning point of the match came in the 63rd minute when Argentina scored the opening goal. From Lo Celso’s corner on the left wing, Otamendi jumped high and headed dangerously, not giving goalkeeper Alisson a chance to block.

Otamendi opened the scoring for Argentina (Photo: Getty)

Receiving a goal, Brazil tried to raise their team high to find an equalizer. Amid the deadlock, the home team had to play without players again when Joelinton received a direct red card in the 81st minute after coldly hitting Argentina’s De Paul. With only 10 people left on the field, Brazil could not equalize in the little remaining time.

The final score of the match is Brazil 0-1 Argentina. This result causes Brazil to fall to 6th place in the 2026 World Cup qualifying rankings in South America with only 7 points, while Argentina continues to lead with 15 points.