Brazil lose to Bolivia, end World Cup qualifiers with worst campaign ever | OneFootball

Brazil lost to Bolivia 1-0 this Tuesday (9th), in the last round of the 2026 World Cup Qualifiers.

At the altitude of 4,150 meters in El Alto, the Seleção struggled from the start.

The lack of breath and the lack of cohesion in the team, made up of players considered reserves by coach Carlo Ancelotti, were the decisive factors for the result.

In stoppage time of the first half, after a silly penalty committed by Bruno Guimarães and awarded after VAR review, Miguelito gave the Bolivians the lead.

It was the first goal conceded by the Seleção under Carlo Ancelotti’s command (0-0 with Ecuador, 1-0 over Paraguay, and 3-0 against Chile).

After halftime, even with the introduction of some "big names" like Marquinhos, Raphinha, and Estêvão, Brazil couldn't find their rhythm on the field or pose any threat to the opposing goalkeeper.

In the end, Alisson performed a miracle and prevented a bigger deficit on the scoreboard.

📉 (Negatively) Historic Campaign

With the defeat, the Brazilian National Team remained at 28 points. With eight wins, four draws, and six losses, the team ends the campaign with a 51.85% success rate.

This is the first time Brazil has scored fewer than 30 points in the South American Qualifiers, in this round-robin format with 10 teams (since 1996).

The worst campaign until then had been in 2002, when Brazil finished in third place with 30 points, with nine wins, three draws, and six losses (55.6% success rate).

The 2026 World Cup Qualifiers are marked for the Seleção by having fewer wins (8 in 18 games), more losses (6 in 18 games), and more goals conceded (17 in 18 games).

With the other results of the round, the Seleção qualified for the 2026 World Cup in fifth place, behind Argentina (38 points), Ecuador (29 points), and Colombia and Uruguay, both with 28 points but with a better goal difference (10-10-7).

If it were with the number of qualifiers from the last World Cups, Brazil would have had to play the playoffs!

*After the increase to 48 teams in the World Cup, Conmebol now qualifies six teams directly, with the seventh place (this year, Bolivia, with 20 points) playing the playoffs.

Since the end of the 2022 World Cup, in December of that year, the Brazilian National Team has been coached by Ramon Menezes, Fernando Diniz, Dorival Júnior, and Carlo Ancelotti.

In addition, president Ednaldo Rodrigues was deposed, and the CBF came to be presided over by Samir Xaud.

📆 Schedule

Brazil returns to the field in the October FIFA window, when they face South Korea and Japan, with both matches played in Asia.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

📸 DANIEL MIRANDA - AFP or licensors