A goal by Vinicius Junior secured Brazil a place in the 2026 World Cup, quite a celebration for Carlo Ancelotti’s home debut as head coach. The once prolific duo at Real Madrid helped Brazil to a 1-0 win over Paraguay at Sao Paulo on Tuesday, a result that could also get Ecuador through the finishing line.
Defending champion Argentina, held to a 1-1 draw by Colombia, had already qualified for next year’s global tournament in the United States, Canada and Mexico. Brazil moved to second spot in the standings with 25 points, 10 behind Argentina but, crucially, more than six points clear of the seventh-place team with two games remaining in the South American qualifiers. The top six teams in South America earn direct entries to the 48-team World Cup.
Chile will miss a third consecutive World Cup after losing 2-0 to Bolivia to remain last in the 10-nation round-robin competition, a result that cost head coach Ricardo Gareca his job. Uruguay beat Venezuela at home 2-0 and edged closer to one of the six direct World Cup spots with 24 points. Venezuela, with 18, is one ahead of Bolivia in the contest for seventh place that grants an intercontinental playoff berth.
Australia make it to 6th straight World Cup
Connor Metcalfe scored his first goal for Australia and Mitchell Duke iced the 2-1 victory against Saudi Arabia that ensured the Socceroos qualified for a sixth straight World Cup. Needing just to avoid a five-goal defeat to secure direct entry to the 2026 tournament, the Socceroos rallied with Metcalfe equalizing just before halftime with a left-foot strike and Duke putting them ahead with a 48th-minute header. Abdulrahman Al Oboud had opened for the Saudis after 19 minutes.
Goalkeeper Mat Ryan made five saves, including a late penalty, in his 100th international for Australia. The Socceroos had to qualify through playoffs in 2018 and 2022, and so earning the direct entry took some pressure off.
Earlier, Japan and South Korea ended successful campaigns on a high with emphatic home victories over Indonesia and Kuwait, respectively. In Osaka, Daichi Kamada scored after 15 minutes to set Japan, preparing for an eighth consecutive World Cup, on their way to a 6-0 victory. Palestine were eliminated from contention after conceding a goal seven minutes into stoppage time in a 1-1 draw with Oman, giving the Oman team the last spot in the next round of continental qualifying.
Six qualifiers so far from Asia
Australia joins already-qualified Japan, Iran, South Korea, Uzbekistan and Jordan in reaching the expanded 48-team tournament. Asia’s two other automatic places will be settled between the six third- and fourth-place teams. That round takes place in October. The teams will be Oman, Qatar, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Indonesia. Earlier, South Korea, who have qualified for an 11th straight World Cup, sealed the top spot in Group B after beating Kuwait 4-0. Elsewhere, China finished off another disappointing campaign with a 1-0 win over Bahrain in a game between teams already eliminated from contention.
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