New Delhi: Brazil and Australia have booked their spots in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, scheduled to be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Australia beat Saudi Arabia 2-1 in Jeddah on Tuesday, while Brazil defeated Paraguay 1-0.
Vinicius Junior scored the match-winning goal in the 44th minute of the match. The Real Madrid forward netted from close range after a cross from Manchester United’s Matheus Cunha. The team struggled for the first 40 minutes of the match, with Cunha missing a goal-scoring opportunity, but his assist proved crucial.
Earlier, Uruguay’s 2-0 win against Venezuela set the stage for both Brazil and Paraguay could as they qualify for the World Cup with a point or a win, respectively. Brazil grabbed the opportunity with Vinicius’ goal and moved to third place in the South American standings with 25 points from 16 matches, while Paraguay need just one more point to book their first World Cup appearance since 2010. Meanwhile, the defending champions Argentina made a brilliant comeback to draw 1-1 with Colombia in Buenos Aires.
Other results from South American World Cup qualifiers
Bolivia 2-0 Chile
Uruguay 2-0 Venezuela
Argentina 1-1 Colombia
Peru 0-0 Ecuador
Australia qualify for FIFA World Cup 2026
The Socceroos secured their 2026 FIFA World Cup spot with a 2-1 victory against Saudi Arabia in Jeddah. The Aussies needed to avoid a five-goal defeat to book their spot at a sixth consecutive finals, and goals from Connor Metcalfe and Mitch Duke earned them a stunning win against the hosts.
Abdulrahman Al-Obud scored from close range in the 19th minute, but Metcalfe equalised just three minutes before half-time. Duke netted the second goal for the Socceroos in the 48th minute of the match. Maty Ryan also made a brilliant late penalty save to deny Salem Al-Dawsari an equaliser. The victory confirmed the Aussies a second place in Group C behind Japan, which secured its place at the finals in March.
Chile will miss a third consecutive FIFA World Cup after losing 2-0 against Bolivia to remain last in South America’s 10-team round-robin competition on Tuesday.
Brazil and Australia have sealed their places in the 2026 FIFA World Cup, scheduled to be held in the USA, Canada and Mexico. Football Sports News: Latest Cricket News, Cricket Live Score, Sports Breaking News from Sports Today
