Brazil on Tuesday booked their place at the 2026 FIFA World Cup in North America with a lackluster 1-0 home victory over Paraguay, the first win of Carlo Ancelotti’s reign, while in Asia, Australia qualified.
Five-time world champions Brazil punched their ticket to the finals in Canada, the US and Mexico thanks to Vinicius Jr.
The Real Madrid star poked in from close range in the 44th minute in Sao Paulo after a cross from new Manchester United signing Matheus Cunha.
Photo: Reuters
It was the perfect gift for the Italian Ancelotti on his 66th birthday, having seen his new side held 0-0 by Ecuador last week in his first game as coach.
Former Real Madrid coach Ancelotti praised his team’s “commitment” and “attitude.”
“It was a good match with a very good first half, although obviously we suffered a bit because Paraguay are very solid opponents and we slowed down a bit in the second,” he said.
Uruguay’s 2-0 win over Venezuela in Montevideo had raised the prospect of qualification for both Brazil and Paraguay at Corinthians Arena.
Paraguay needed only a point to qualify, while Brazil knew they could advance with a win.
The victory lifted Brazil into third place in the South American standings with 25 points from 16 games, guaranteeing them a top-six finish and an automatic qualifying berth.
Looking ahead to next summer, Ancelotti said he had “a very long list” of 70 players in mind, including Neymar, who was missing with injury.
“I really liked those who were with me in this squad for their commitment, their attitude and the atmosphere,” he added.
The defeat left Paraguay with 24 points, meaning they need one point to secure their first World Cup appearance since 2010.
Surprise package Ecuador joined Brazil by sealing qualification with a point following a 0-0 draw with Peru in Lima.
In other games, Uruguay edged closer to qualification with their win over Venezuela, while Chile were eliminated with defeat to Bolivia. Argentina, who have already qualified, came from behind to frustrate Colombia with a 1-1 draw in Buenos Aires.
In Asia, Tony Popovic’s Socceroos, who went into the third round’s final match day heavy favorites to progress, defeated direct rivals Saudi Arabia 2-1 in Jeddah to seal the second automatic qualification spot in Group C, and Australia’s sixth successive appearance at a World Cup.
Saudi Arabia must instead make do with a place in the fourth round, alongside Indonesia. Japan had already secured top place in the group.
“We’ve built a good foundation now and we want to really get better, kick on and try and do something special at the World Cup,” Popovic said.
In Group B, Oman ended Palestine’s hopes of a first appearance at the finals with a last-gasp draw.
Palestinian hearts were broken when they conceded a penalty deep into stoppage-time to draw 1-1 with Oman in Amman.
The result means Oman finish fourth in the group at Palestine’s expense and therefore advance to the next phase of qualification.
Crystal Palace forward Daichi Kamada scored twice for Japan and Paris Saint-Germain’s Lee Kang-in netted for South Korea as the Asian giants rounded off successful World Cup qualifying campaigns in style.
Japan romped to a 6-0 thrashing of Patrick Kluivert’s Indonesia in Osaka, while South Korea cruised to a 4-0 win over Kuwait in Seoul, where fans were treated to a late appearance by Son Heung-min.
Iran and Uzbekistan are already through to next year’s finals from Group A, as are Jordan and South Korea from Group B, who both secured qualification last week with a game to spare.
Iraq confirmed third place in the group with a 1-0 victory against Jordan in Amman, the hosts having already clinched a first appearance at the World Cup.
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