Brazil lost to Paraguay in 2026 World Cup qualifiers
Following Argentina, the Brazilian team also lost in the 8th match of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America on the morning of September 11.
Despite fielding an attacking lineup, Brazil could not score against Paraguay. Photo: Paraguay Football Federation
Full time. Brazil lost 0-1 to Paraguay. This was the Selecao’s fourth defeat in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers in South America.
Brazil ranked 5th after 8 matches, with 10 points, behind Argentina (18), Colombia (16), Uruguay (15) and Ecuador (11).
Minute 90+5: Brazil’s crosses and shots were very ineffective in this match.
The second half has 6 minutes of injury time.
Minute 78: Danger! Paraguay player headed the ball from a corner kick, the ball hit the Brazilian defender and flew over the crossbar.
Rodrygo leaves the field, Lucas Moura replaces him.
Minute 74: Vincius shot from a distance but it was not difficult enough to beat the Paraguay goalkeeper.
Paraguay still holds the advantage over Brazil. Photo: Paraguay Football Federation
Minute 70: Brazil did not have many quality combinations. Vinicius and Rodrygo even stepped on each other’s feet in a finishing opportunity.
Minute 55: Brazil attacked the right wing quite a lot but getting the ball to the finishing position was not easy.
Minute 47: Rodrygo was given a good opportunity but the Real Madrid striker’s shot was too inaccurate.
08:37: Second half begins. Brazil makes 2 substitutions. Luiz Henrique and Joao Pedro replace Bruno Guimaraes and Endrick.
End of first half. Paraguay temporarily leads Brazil 1-0 in a half with more disputes, tricks and reactions to the referee than professional marks.
The first half has 5 minutes of injury time.
Diego Gomez opened the scoring for the home team in the 20th minute. Photo: Paraguay Football Federation
Minute 35: Paraguay gave up control of the ball to their opponents but Brazil could not find a way to break through.
Minute 25: Missed! Brazil had a good attack, through Endrick, Vincius and Guilherme Arana’s feet to finish but Paraguay’s defender blocked it right on the goal line.
Minute 20: Goal! Paraguay opened the scoring. The cross was deflected, Diego Gomez received the ball, handled it twice and finished beautifully from outside the box, opening the scoring for the home team.
Gomez, Lionel Messi’s teammate at Inter Miami, scored with his first shot.
The home team’s players fought fiercely. Photo: Cut from video
Minute 15: Paraguay players reacted strongly to the referee every time they challenged the opponent and were penalized.
Minute 10: There were no technical breakthroughs in the first 10 minutes of the match, but there were a few confrontations.
07:30: The match begins.
Before this match, Argentina lost 1-2 to Colombia, Uruguay drew 0-0 away to Venezuela, Chile lost 1-2 to Bolivia at home and Ecuador beat Peru 1-0.
Paraguay’s starting lineup. Photo: Paraguay Football Federation
Brazil’s starting lineup. Photo: Brazilian Football Confederation
Pre-match information
Coach Gustavo Alfaro had a good start with Paraguay, ending a three-game losing streak. The 0-0 draw at Uruguay on September 7 also prevented Luis Suarez from saying a proper farewell to the home team.
However, Paraguay will have to improve a lot if they want to qualify for the 2026 World Cup. With only 1 win in the South American qualifying round so far, they are ranked 7th with 6 points (3 draws, 3 losses).
It’s a place in the intercontinental play-offs, but there are always teams behind them ready to leapfrog them. That could be the case in this round of fixtures, as they host Brazil.
But Paraguay also have a “talisman” in Alfaro, who has drawn three consecutive games against Brazil while in charge of Ecuador and Costa Rica. Of course, he will need his players to really fight on the pitch, because Paraguay have not beaten Brazil inside 90 minutes since a home qualifier in 2008.
For Brazil, after a turbulent period, they ended a four-game winless streak (D1 L3) in qualifying with a 1-0 win over Ecuador . It was the fourth victory under coach Dorival Junior (D4 L1), and a similar result in Paraguay would give the Selecao their first back-to-back wins under his guidance.
Anything less than three points would be a disappointment, especially as Brazil have scored 10 goals in three games against Paraguay this decade (W3).
In the recent Copa America, Brazil won 3-1, including a double from Vinicius Junior.