Uruguay vs Brazil

Estadio Centenario hosts a mouth-watering 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier betwen Uruguay and Brazil.

Darwin Nunez’s injury-time penalty against Colombia salvaged a 2-2 draw for Uruguay at the weekend, bookending their topsy-turvy three-game start to the new qualifying campaign (W1, D1, L1). Unlike some recent qualifying cycles, they’ve established themselves as CONMEBOL entertainers, with each of their three qualifiers featuring over 2.5 goals and both teams on the scoresheet. ‘La Celeste’ would probably sign up for a draw before the kick-off, knowing their last H2H win against Brazil dates back to 2001 (D3, L9). New manager Marcelo Bielsa’s personal H2H record against the record-time world champions doesn’t offer much respite (W2, L8). Uruguay would be silly to tuck themselves into a false sense of security for playing in Montevideo, considering they’ve lost their last three H2Hs at home while conceding an average of 3.33 goals per game.

Meanwhile, Brazil stars Richarlison and Vinicius Junior came under heavy scrutiny after being accused of partying with local influencers in the wake of a dismal 1-1 home draw against CONMEBOL minnows Venezuela last time out. That result knocked them down from a two-game winning start to the 2026 World Cup qualifying campaign, increasing the pressure on interim manager Fernando Diniz. Capitulating late has been a common theme in Brazil’s recent fixtures, as they’ve conceded three times beyond the 75th minute in four internationals (W2, D1, L1). That casts further doubt on the visitors’ underwhelming seven-match form on foreign soil (W3, L4). However, it’s been eight years since Brazil last lost an away World Cup qualifier (W11, D7), most recently going down in October 2015.