Argentina 4–1 Brazil: Player Ratings As La Albiceleste Qualify for 2026 World Cup Without Lionel Messi

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·26 March 2025

Argentina 4–1 Brazil: Player Ratings As La Albiceleste Qualify for 2026 World Cup Without Lionel Messi

Argentina are officially headed to the 2026 FIFA World Cup after securing a dominant 4–1 victory over Brazil.

Argentina and Brazil met for the 115th time to close out the March international break. La Albiceleste came into the match looking to extend their unbeaten streak against Brazil to four matches while the Seleção sought their first win against Argentina since 2019.

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Lionel Scaloni's men gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about from the opening whistle. Julián Alvarez found the back of the net just four minutes into the match, outclassing Murillo to poke a calm finish past Bento. Eight minutes later, Nahuel Molina delivered a cross to Enzo Fernández, who doubled the hosts' lead with his second goal of the CONMEBOL qualifiers.

Matheus Cunha got Brazil back in the game after dispossessing Cristian Romero in his own half. The Wolves forward then fired a shot from distance that beat Emiliano Martínez. Argentina soon retook control of the game, though, when Alexis Mac Allister sent a volley into the back of the net just before halftime.

The second half lacked the excitement of the first. Dorival Junior made three substitutions at halftime, opting to bring on Endrick, João Gomes and Léo Ortiz, but Brazil still could not rally a comeback. In fact, it was Argentina who found the back of the net again, this time through Giuliano Simeone.

The 4–1 defeat for the Seleção dropped Brazil to fourth in the standings with just four more qualifiers to play. Argentina, meanwhile, closed out the game comfortably and added three more points to their dominant lead atop the CONMEBOL standings. Even without Lionel Messi available in March, La Albiceleste still punched their tickets to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.