The top-six teams in CONMEBOL automatically qualify for the World Cup, while the seventh will play in the inter-confederation playoffs. His despair turned to joy in the dying moments when Vinicius unleashed a curling strike from the edge of the box that evaded Vargas’ and found the back of the net. The victory lifted Brazil to second in South American qualifying with 21 points, four behind leaders Argentina and one ahead of Uruguay in third, both of whom have a game in hand and will clash on Friday. Jefferson Lerma quickly gets the ball to his captain James Rodriguez, who gets another assist when he sets up Liverpool star Luis Diaz for a fine finish from the left of the Brazil box. Shot attempts are 6-4 for Colombia and 10-8 for the visitors in a typically fierce half between these CONMEBOL rivals.
Goalkeeper Alisson and Colombian defender 1win colombia Davinson Sánchez were substituted in the concussion protocol, and will also miss the next match in World Cup qualifying. Raphinha had put Brazil ahead from the penalty spot very early in the game, but Luis Diaz delivered an equalizer before the break. They were also exposed to regular counterattacks with Colombia constantly threatening goalkeeper Alisson’s box. But Brazil hit a wall after that and other than an angled strike from Rodrygo that sailed wide of the post in the 13th minute, they couldn’t create any real scoring opportunities. Bolivia remains in seventh place with 13 points, which keeps the team in contention for inter-continental playoffs for World Cup spots. The visitors got the ball at the edge of Brazil’s box from substitute Joeliton, who replaced injured Gerson.
1win colombia are at home against Paraguay after this game and know two positive results will go a long way in booking their ticket to the 2026 World Cup. Brazil appeared more energized than in previous games, with speed, high skill and an early goal from the spot suggesting that coach Dorival Júnior had found a starting lineup to get the job done. The five-time World Cup champions started strong and grabbed the lead within six minutes through a Raphinha penalty after Vinicius Jr was fouled inside the box by Daniel Munoz. As for Colombia, well, they’re one point and one place above Brazil in the table and are looking good to qualify for their first World Cup since 2018 as they missed out making it to Qatar in 2022.
But the pressure to find a goal appeared to take the wind out of their sails and as they wasted one chance after another, manager Dorival Jr, who took the job a year ago, grew increasingly forlorn on the sidelines. In the 40th minute, James Rodriguez pounced on a lapse in concentration from Newcastle midfielder Joelinton, taking possession on the edge of the box and finding Diaz who fired into the bottom right corner to equalise. Both teams struggled with accuracy in the second half until Vinicius Júnior took a shot from long distance which deflected off Jefferson Lerma and beat goalkeeper Camilo Vargas.
Wolves duo Andre and Matheus Cunha could line up alongside Newcastle’s Bruno Guimaraes and Joelinton in midfield as there is a heavy Premier League feel to this squad. Brazil will be hoping to get at least four points from their games against Colombia and Argentina in this window to cement themselves in the automatic qualification spots. They need the trio of Rodrygo, Vinicius Junior and Raphinha to deliver in attack to get them over the line. Paraguay remained unbeaten under coach Gustavo Alfaro with a tense 1-0 win over Chile in front of raucous fans in Asuncion.
The hosts dominated most of the match and maintained pressure on their rivals, who could barely create scoring opportunities. After that, Brazil kept possession, but didn’t put on real pressure to add a second in front of 70,000 fans. SAO PAULO (AP) — A last-minute goal by Vinicius Júnior secured Brazil’s 2-1 win over Colombia in World Cup qualifying on Thursday, helping his team and millions of fans avoid more disappointment. Los Cafeteros were going really well early in qualifying but three defeats in their last four games has seen them drop down the standings. Still, they’re looking good for automatic qualification and with Duran, Diaz and James in attack, they are very dangerous and have a great mix of speed, trickery and power. Defensively they have plenty of experience and they will dig in and make this very tough for Brazil and look to the likes of Diaz to create chances on the counter.
Brazil midfielder Bruno Guimarães and defender Gabriel Magalhães were booked against Colombia and will miss the match in Buenos Aires on Tuesday. Lionel Scaloni’s Argentina squad has 25 points after 12 games — four points clear of Brazil (21 points from 13 games) — and is close to securing its place in the 2026 World Cup. There were 10 minutes stoppage time declared thanks to a long injury lay-off, and Brazil make the most of it. Brazil’s 21 points are now good for second on the table, eight more than seventh-place Bolivia with five matches each to play.
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