World Cup
Brazil return to winning ways with dreary win over Ecuador
Brazil got back to winning ways in the South American World Cup qualifiers with a drab 1-0 victory over Ecuador on Friday thanks to first-half goal by Real Madrid forward Rodrygo.
After its first streak of losses in three successive qualifiers, Brazil did just enough to earn the win that lifted the struggling five-time World Cup champions to fourth in the standings with 10 points.
They are eight points behind leaders Argentina and only two points over Ecuador in sixth, the last spot guaranteed a berth at the 2026 finals.
Playing their first match after a disappointing Copa America defeat to Uruguay in the quarter-final, Brazil had another lacklustre performance, dominating possession but failing to create clear chances throughout the match.
Brazil misplaced too many passes and struggled to connect up front, out of ideas on how to beat Ecuador’s rock solid defensive block.
Ecuador were relentless while applying a physically aggressive pressure high with three hardworking forwards, making the locals uncomfortable when putting the ball in play. They Brazil almost no room to get inside their box either, forcing them to roam the ball horizontally around their penalty area and resort to strikes from long range.
Brazil’s only two shots on target on the first half were made by Rodrygo, who, after stinging the goalkeeper’s hands from a free kick early, were lucky to break the deadlock in the 29th minute. His effort fired from the edge of the box deflected off a defender and arched around the wrong-footed goalkeeper before hitting the right post and finding the back of the net.
Ecuador almost levelled in a counterattack right before the break, but defender Gabriel Magalhaes denied Moises Caicedo’s effort with a last-minute goal-line clearance.
Brazil came back even worse in the second half, with an uninspired Vinicius Jr creating their only shot on target in an absolutely morose 45 minutes, with boos greeting the final whistle.
“We needed this win, doesn’t matter if it was ugly or not. I’m happy with the victory and to have scored, and I hope it helps us getting better and progressing to the level that we want to reach moving forward,” Rodrygo told Brazilian TV Globo. Brazil will face Paraguay at Asuncion on Tuesday while Ecuador is set to host Peru in Quito on Monday.
-Reuters
Brazil forward Vinicius Jr will miss their World Cup qualifiers against Chile and Peru due to injury, the Brazilian FA (CBF) said on Sunday, making him the fourth player to be replaced in the squad.
Vinicius suffered a neck injury during Real Madrid’s 2-0 home win against Villarreal on Saturday, the club said.
Fulham midfielder Andreas Pereira has been called up to replace him, the CBF said in a statement.
Vinicius’ injury adds to the woes of coach Dorival Jr as Brazil, fifth in CONMEBOL’s World Cup qualifying standings with 10 points after eight matches, face Chile in Santiago on Oct. 10 before hosting Peru in Brasilia five days later.
The top six of the 10 teams qualify directly for the World Cup.
Dorival had already been forced to call up Paris Saint-Germain’s Lucas Beraldo, Palmeiras’ Weverton and Botafogo’s Alex Telles to replace Juventus’ Bremer, Liverpool’s Alisson and Atletico Mineiro’s Guilherme Arana, all injured.
-Reuters
The Nigeria Football Federation (NFF) Congress rose from its Annual General Meeting in Asaba on Friday and assured the Nigerian Government of its commitment to ensure that the Super Eagles qualify for the 2026 World Cup.
The Nigerian team has had a poor head start in the series and has not won any of the four matches. There are six more matches to be played.
Only one of the the six teams will pick an automatic ticket even as Nigeria sat dangerously fifth in Group C. Their next match is away to group leaders, Rwanda on 17 March next year.
Another drop of points portends deep dangers as the Super Eagles have zero option other than to win all the remaining six matches. Two of those matches are potentially risky. These are the away duels with South Africa on 7 September and Lesotho on 5 October next year.
Both matches will be played in South Africa which also hosts Lesotho home games apart from the fact that Lesotho is geographically completely encircled by South Africa.
The quest to qualify for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is relatively easier as the Super Eagles are in the lead of the quartet that includes Benin Republic, Rwanda and Libya.
Two teams will qualify. Victory over Libya in the back-to-back clashes holding in the next few days will likely qualify Nigeria for Morocco 2025.
Nigeria’s World Cup Qualifying Fixtures
- 17 March 2025 – Rwanda v Nigeria
- 24 March 2025- Nigeria v Zimbabwe
- 1 Sept. 2025 – Nigeria v Rwanda
- 7 Sept. 2025 – South Africa v Nigeria
- 5 Oct. 2025 – Lesotho v Nigeria
- 12 Oct. 2025 – Nigeria v Benin Republic
Nigeria’s AFCON Cup Qualifying Fixtures
- 10 Oct. 2024 – Nigeria v Libya
- 15 Oct, 2024 – Libya v Nigeria
- 11 Nov. 2024 – Benin Republic v Nigeria
- 19 Nov. 2024 – Nigeria v Rwanda
Argentina have been boosted by the return of captain Lionel Messi for their CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers against Venezuela and Bolivia, the country’s football association said on Wednesday, after the 37-year-old recovered from an ankle injury.
Messi, who plays for Major League Soccer club Inter Miami, was left out of Argentina’s squad for their World Cup Qualifiers against Chile and Colombia in August due to the injury which he sustained during the Copa America final.
Argentina beat Colombia 1-0 to win a record 16th Copa America title.
ARGENTINA SQUAD:
Goalkeepers – Geronimo Rulli, Walter Benitez, Juan Musso.
Defenders – Gonzalo Montiel, Nahuel Molina, Cristian Romero, Lisandro Martinez, Nicolas Otamendi, German Pezzella, Leonardo Balerdi, Marcos Acuna, Nicolas Tagliafico.
Midfielders – Rodrigo De Paul, Alexis Mac Allister, Leandro Paredes, Enzo Fernandez, Giovani Lo Celso, Thiago Almada, Guido Rodriguez, Nico Paz.
Forwards – Nicolas Gonzalez, Lautaro Martinez, Alejandro Garnacho, Julian Alvarez, Valentin Carboni, Valentin Carboni, Paulo Dybala and Lionel Messi.
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