In a tense 2026 World Cup qualifying match that saw pre-match crowd unrest that delayed kickoff, Argentina defeated Brazil 1-0 on Tuesday.
Argentina defeated their fierce South American rivals thanks to a header in the 63rd minute from seasoned defender Nicolas Otamendi. The world champions had recovered from their loss to Uruguay the previous week.
Argentina leads the South American qualifying standings after winning at Rio's storied Maracana Stadium, having collected 15 points from six games.
Meanwhile, Brazil's third loss in the qualifying round drops the five-time world champions to sixth place after six games with seven points.
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After the game, Lionel Messi, the captain of Argentina, said, "This group continues to achieve historic things." "Maybe today wasn't the most important thing, but it was a nice win."
Moments before kickoff, there had been an altercation in the Maracana stands, with Brazilian police being seen at one end of the stadium using batons to drive back a group of Argentine fans.
Several Argentina players approached the disturbances in what appeared to be an attempt to calm things down. At one point, goalkeeper Emi Martinez attempted to leap into the seating area to confront a Brazilian police officer brandishing a baton.
As the altercations persisted, Messi's Argentina team returned to the locker room, seemingly uttering the words "We're not playing, we're leaving."
Later, Messi clarified that he had removed his teammates from the field to calm things down.
"We went to the locker room because it was a way to calm everything down a little," Messi stated. "We went to check on our families and other loved ones. After that, we returned."
After a delay of about half an hour from the originally scheduled start time, the 2022 World Cup winners returned to the field just before 10 p.m. local time.
The fervent pre-match atmosphere carried over onto the field when play eventually resumed. Gabriel Jesus, an Arsenal striker from Brazil, received a yellow card five minutes after colliding with Rodrigo De Paul of Argentina.
