In Messi's absence, Argentina secures its place in the 2026 World Cup with a crushing 4-1 victory over Brazil.

In Messi's absence, Argentina confirms its qualification for the 2026 World Cup with a landslide victory over Brazil.

Argentina vs. Brazil. A photo from the Argentina vs. Brazil match.

Julian Alvarez opened the scoring for the Tango in the fourth minute, before Enzo Fernandez added Argentina's second goal in the 12th minute. Brazil then emerged victorious in the 26th minute, with Matheus Cunha scoring Brazil's only goal.

While everyone thought the first half had ended with Argentina leading 2-1, Alex Mac Allister scored the third goal for the Tango in the 37th minute, and Juliano Simeone added Argentina's fourth goal in the 71st minute. With this result, Argentina now sits atop the group with 31 points, officially confirming their qualification for the World Cup finals after learning of their qualification before the match, benefiting from Uruguay's draw with Bolivia. (For details, click here) While Brazil's tally stopped at 21 points, in third place in the standings. Lionel Messi, captain of the Argentine national team, missed the match between the Tango and Brazil due to injury, but despite that, the Tango achieved a big victory, continuing to consolidate its complex against Brazil, who have 

not defeated the world champions on their home turf since 2019.