<p>In a tense 2026 World Cup qualifying encounter that included pre-match crowd unrest that delayed kickoff, Argentina beat Brazil 1-0 on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Argentina’s triumph was sealed by a header in the 63rd minute by experienced defender Nicolas Otamendi. The world champions defeated their fierce South American rivals after losing to Uruguay the previous week.</p>
<p>Argentina leads the South American qualification rankings after winning at Rio’s storied Maracana Stadium, having collected 15 points from six games.<img decoding=”async” class=”alignnone wp-image-285533″ src=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/theindiaprint.com-experts-suggest-buying-five-stocks-epl-ltd-to-swan-energy-126221355be200694c875f15-750×563.jpg” alt=”theindiaprint.com experts suggest buying five stocks epl ltd to swan energy 126221355be200694c875f15″ width=”1563″ height=”1173″ title=”Argentina Overtakes Brazil in the 2026 World Cup Qualifier; Uruguay March Forward 3″ srcset=”https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/theindiaprint.com-experts-suggest-buying-five-stocks-epl-ltd-to-swan-energy-126221355be200694c875f15-750×563.jpg 750w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/theindiaprint.com-experts-suggest-buying-five-stocks-epl-ltd-to-swan-energy-126221355be200694c875f15-1024×768.jpg 1024w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/theindiaprint.com-experts-suggest-buying-five-stocks-epl-ltd-to-swan-energy-126221355be200694c875f15-768×576.jpg 768w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/theindiaprint.com-experts-suggest-buying-five-stocks-epl-ltd-to-swan-energy-126221355be200694c875f15-150×113.jpg 150w, https://www.theindiaprint.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/11/theindiaprint.com-experts-suggest-buying-five-stocks-epl-ltd-to-swan-energy-126221355be200694c875f15.jpg 1280w” sizes=”(max-width: 1563px) 100vw, 1563px” /></p>
<p>Meanwhile, Brazil’s third loss in the qualifying round drops the five-time world champions to sixth position after six games played with seven points.</p>
<p>After the game, Lionel Messi, the captain of Argentina, remarked, “This group continues to achieve historic things.” “It was a nice win, but maybe today wasn’t the most important thing.”</p>
<p>Moments before kickoff, there had been a fight in the Maracana bleachers, with Brazilian police being spotted at one end of the stadium using batons to push back a group of Argentine supporters.</p>
<p>A number of Argentina players approached the commotion in what seemed to be an effort to settle things down. At one point, goalkeeper Emi Martinez attempted to leap into the sitting area to face a Brazilian police officer with a baton.</p>
<p>As the altercations persisted, Messi and the Argentina team went back to their dressing room, with Messi seemingly saying, “We’re not playing, we’re leaving.”</p>
<p>Later on, Messi said that he had removed his teammates off the pitch in an effort to calm things down.</p>
<p>“We decided to take a little break and head to the locker room,” Messi said. “We went to check on our family and other loved ones. After that, we returned.</p>
<p>After a delay of around half an hour from the originally planned start time, the 2022 World Cup victors returned to the field just before 10 p.m. local time.</p>
<p>When play eventually resumed, the fervent pre-match atmosphere carried over onto the field, with Gabriel Jesus, an Arsenal striker from Brazil, receiving a yellow card barely five minutes after colliding with Rodrigo De Paul of Argentina.</p>
<p>A tense environment</p>
<p>Throughout a dismal first half marked by several niggly fouls, neither team created many chances to score goals, maintaining the tense atmosphere of the match.</p>
<p>Raphinha, a winger for Brazil, was booked in the 14th minute for throwing his arm in De Paul’s face. Five minutes later, he caught Alexis MacAllister with a crazy studs-up charge, and was fortunate to escape a second yellow card.</p>
<p>Up until Raphinha’s free kick was went wide for a corner in the 38th minute, Brazil was unable to record a single attempt on goal or off target.</p>
<p>After 44 minutes, Brazil’s Gabriel Martinelli scored the game’s lone goal from either side after Argentina’s Martinez miscuted a clearing and sent it back toward the goal.</p>
<p>Argentine fans sighed with relief when defender Cristian Romero stopped Martinelli’s attempt on goal at the goal line.</p>
<p>Brazil got off to a more promising start in the second half when, after 54 minutes, Martinez stopped an attempt by Raphinha at the near post.</p>
<p>After a strong run by Gabriel, Martinez again saved Argentina, deflecting Martinelli’s goal-bound attempt.</p>
<p>However, Brazil was completely stunned when Argentina grabbed the lead in the 63rd minute with their first-ever chance on goal.</p>
<p>Giovani Lo Celso cut in a welcoming corner from the left, and Otamendi, 35, sprang above midfielder Andre of Brazil to head in for a 1-0 victory.</p>
<p>After only 12 minutes on the pitch, Joelinton, a replacement, was sent out for an off-the-ball altercation with De Paul in the 82nd minute, adding insult to injury for Brazil.</p>
<p>In other South American qualifying action on Tuesday, Uruguay defeated Bolivia 3-0 with ease thanks to two goals from Darwin Nunez of Liverpool, keeping them two points behind Argentina in the rankings.</p>
<p>Colombia maintained their campaign for qualifying with a 1-0 victory over Paraguay in Asuncion, but Chile’s woes grew as they lost 1-0 to Ecuador in Quito.</p>
<p>Colombia, with 12 points, is ranked third in the rankings and did not make it to the 2022 World Cup. On the other hand, Chile is lagging behind in seventh place with only five points. In the second match of the day, Peru and Venezuela tied 1-1 in Lima.</p>
<p>In the round-robin home-and-away qualifying round, the top six teams will secure spots in the 48-team 2026 World Cup, which will be held in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. The seventh-place team will compete in a play-off.</p>
