Brazil v Argentina: 2026 World Cup qualifying – live

Welcome to a crucial World Cup qualifier between first-place Argentina and fifth-place Brazil, where …

… wait … do the standings matter?

CONMEBOL, the South American federation, has the simplest and fairest qualification system. No comparisons of runners-up across disparate groups. No draw that creates a “Group of Death.” No “playoff to get into the group stage that determines who goes to the playoff.”

Ten teams. Double round-robin. That’s it.

It’s a fair format. It’s also quite forgiving.

So Brazil are currently in fifth place, looking up not only at eternal rival Argentina and historically accomplished countries such as Uruguay and Colombia but also at Venezuela. If not for a three-point penalty to Ecuador, Brazil would be trailing them, too.

And they would still be on course to qualify for the next World Cup, which will include a mind-boggling 48 teams.

Even if things were truly horrific, Brazil would have nearly two years to fix the problem(s). The last games in this competition are in September 2025.

So if you’re just tuning in to see Messi and Neymar without paying attention to the standings, you can be forgiven. After tonight, we’ll be one-third of the way through our 18 rounds. Then in a couple of years, if the Earth is still intact, Argentina will definitely be in the World Cup, and Brazil will almost definitely be there as well.

Enjoy this game for what it is – a bit more meaningful than a friendly, a bit less meaningful than a Copa America or World Cup elimination game.