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Brazil lost a World Cup qualifier in their home nation against Argentina for the first time
Argentina defeated Brazil 1-0 in their 2026 World Cup qualifying match on Tuesday, November 22, 2023.
The match was played at the Maracanã Stadium in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Nicolas Otamendi scored the only goal of the game in the 63rd minute. Otamendi headed in a corner from Lionel Messi to give Argentina the lead.
Brazil had a number of chances to equalize, but they were unable to find the back of the net. Argentina defended well and held on for the win.
The win was Argentina's first in Brazil since 2005. It also ended Brazil's 17-match unbeaten streak in World Cup qualifiers.
Lionel Messi's Criticism of Police treatment of fans
Fans clashed during the pre-match anthems to prompt police to attack with batons, forcing players to intervene.
The police charged at Argentinian fans, causing a half-hour delay to kick-off.
Argentina captain Messi has criticized the police treatment of visiting supporters at the Maracana stadium.
Lionel Messi, along with the Argentinian players, went over to the terraces to try and calm the situation before leaving the pitch and returning to the dressing room for more than 10 minutes.
According to the Independent, Lionel Messi expressed his criticism, saying:
“The truth is that this group continues to achieve historic things, once again,”
“Obviously, at the beginning it was bad because we saw how they were beating people.
“You think about the family, the people who are there, who don’t know what’s going on and we are more concerned about that than playing a match. At that point the match was secondary. We went to the locker room because it was the best way to calm everything down, it could have ended in tragedy.
“After that, winning this game like this I think is one of the most important wins that this group has achieved. It is something very nice to be able to win here in Brazil, after how strong they have been at home throughout their history.”
Earlier, Rocketparrot reported a football violence incident in Brazil where Coritiba and Cruzeiro fans clashed during a Brazilian Série A match at the Vila Capanema stadium in Curitiba, Paraná.
Argentina are now at the top of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying table with 15 points from six games. Brazil is in sixth place with seven points from six games.
On the other end, Brazil plunged to a third straight defeat and its first ever at-home loss in a World Cup qualifier to stand sixth in the standings.
The next round of World Cup qualifiers will be played in March 2024.
