Pivot of controversial brand, Brazil loses the first with Ancelotti and Bolivia still dreams

In the farewell to the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, the Brazilian team lost its first match under coach Carlo Ancelotti .

On Tuesday night (9), in El Alto, Bolivia used the advantage of 4,100 m altitude and won 1-0, with a goal from striker Miguelito – the pivot of recent controversy in the Brazilian Championship Series B.

Arrested for racial abuse in a match against Operário and subsequently sentenced to a five-game suspension by the STJD (Superior Court of Sports Justice) , the América-MG player scored the only goal of the match from the penalty spot, a result that puts the Bolivians in the play-offs for the World Cup.

The penalty was committed by Bruno Guimarães , at the end of the first half, in a move signaled after VAR intervention, but which generated a lot of complaints from the technical committee led by the Italian coach.

Bolivia, which hasn't been to the World Cup since 1994 in the United States, now has a chance to return to the tournament after 32 years. Colombia's victory over Venezuela put La Verde in sixth place.

The team will now participate in a playoff with five other teams, with two spots at stake. North America will have two representatives, while Africa, Asia, and Oceania (with a spot assigned to New Caledonia) each have one spot in the access tournament.

In total, 18 of the 20 points earned by the Bolivians were earned at home in El Alto, which many consider an unfair advantage. Midfielder Raphinha, in fact, complained about playing at altitude and also about the referee.

"From the moment they put you at an altitude of 4,000 meters to win the game, it disadvantages the other teams. The game was evenly matched, and the referee awarded a penalty in the first half," the Barcelona player said.

With 28 points from 18 games, the Brazilian national team completed its worst campaign in the current World Cup qualifying format. The team, which began the campaign under Fernando Diniz and later came under the leadership of Dorival Júnior , fell ten points behind leaders Argentina, who finished with 38 points.

Ecuador came in second place with 29 points, followed by Colombia and Uruguay, who had the same 28 points as Brazil but were ahead on tiebreaker criteria.

Ancelotti took over the Brazilian national team on July 5th, following a draw with Ecuador away from home. Two victories followed, which were enough to secure a World Cup spot: a 1-0 victory over Paraguay and a 3-0 victory over Chile.

In 2025, Carlo Ancelotti has four more opportunities to test the Brazilian national team. The first will take place next month, during the next FIFA World Cup. On October 10th, the match will be against South Korea. Four days later, the match will be against Japan.

The CBF is still planning matches against African teams in November and, in March, matches against European teams – which still depend on commercial agreements for the choice of venues.

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