Argentina At The Top, Brazil In Sixth Place: South American World Cup Qualifiers Roundup

The South American World Cup Qualifiers provided another night for the history books on Tuesday, with Argentina becoming the first country to ever beat Brazil at home in a match of the kind, thus ending a 64-match streak that began in the 1954 World Cup Qualifiers.

In a match marked by controversy following clashes between Brazilian police and Argentine fans, a header by Nicolas Otamendi gave the Albiceleste the historic win.

As the league enters an almost year-long hiatus, here's a look at the current stance and highlights so far: Argentina, the reigning world champion, stands at the top with five wins and a defeat against Uruguay, its first since losing against Saudi Arabia in the first match of its successful World Cup run.

The outlook for Brazil, the other South American powerhouse, is a lot gloomier: it currently stands in sixth place after losing three matches in a row, another negative first for the Verdeamarelha in the qualifiers.

While it's highly unlikely Brazil faces a real danger of not qualifying for the 2026 World Cup in Mexico, the U.S. and Canada (South America's teams have six direct qualifying spots and a playoff), a lack of global stars and mediocre performances are not currently placing it as a favorite for the next global competition.

In contrast, the Uruguayan, Colombian and Venezuelan teams are performing above expectations. The Celeste beat Argentina and Brazil in consecutive matches and, after defeating Bolivia in its latest face-off, stands in second place two points behind Argentina. Colombia also beat Brazil and a victory against Paraguay has it in third place.

But the South American Qualifiers' Cinderella story has a single name: Venezuela. The vinotinto, which has never played in a World Cup, stands in fourth position with nine points. While there are still 12 more matches to go, the larger amount of tickets and the team's level have created high hopes for the Venezuelans, who have massively come out to support them in the latest match against Peru.

The fact that most South American countries have large Venezuelan populations after millions migrated amid a decade-long economic, political and social crisis, makes every match a regional event.

Below are the results of Tuesday's matches:

Peru 1 - Venezuela 1

Brazil 0 - Argentina 1

Uruguay 3 - Bolivia 0

Ecuador 1 - Chile 0

Paraguay 0 - Colombia 1

The next matchday will take place on September 5, 2024, but before that countries will meet in a new edition of the Copa America, to be played in the U.S. between June and July next year.