Brazil has just experienced a profound humiliation at the hands of a historic rival, and the team’s captain, Marquinhos (Marcos Aoas Correa), wants everyone to know they’re sorry. Whether or not Neymar’s absence is to blame for the disaster, the fact remains that Brazil was roundly trounced by Argentina in the March 25, 2025 World Cup qualifier.
The Seleção, the only team to win the FIFA World Cup five times, has never had it this bad in a match like this. Argentina dominated the game from the start, and they didn’t even have their playmaker, Messi. Julian Alvarez scored four minutes into the game, effectively setting a tempo that didn’t let up until the final whistle. The venue, Buenos Aires, doesn’t make the situation any easier for Brazil. It hasn’t beaten the reigning champion on its own turf since the 2009 3-1 victory in Santa Fe.
On top of that, it has not beaten Argentina in six years. Not long after Alvarez’s goal, Enzo Fernandez doubled Argentina’s lead. Matheus Cunha managed to pull one back for the Seleção Brasileira, but the La Albiceleste’s Alexis Mac Allister and Giuliano Simeone wouldn’t stand for it, ultimately sealing Argentina’s emphatic victory with two goals.
What just happened here has made it crystal clear how Canarinho is holding up under coach Dorival Jr. Fans have criticized Dorival for delivering inconsistent results since assuming the role of Brazil’s gaffe in early 2024. Hours before the face-off against Argentina, Dorival bemoaned the criticisms that don’t seem to recognize his wins. “We live in a country that loves to criticize,” he said in a press conference.
“It’s a shame, but that’s what I think; that we love to criticize and rarely get the respect when it deserves. But time puts everyone in their place.” Dorival must have felt upbeat after drawing Venezuela and Uruguay and beating Columbia. He admitted responsibility for the team’s shape and “everything that has happened.”
“We are looking to recover in a competition that is getting harder every year,” he told the press,” and to get back to being consistent, we will need to restructure ourselves once and for all and seek organization to have a good defense and an efficient attack.”
Beating Columbia in the March 21 clash lifted Brazil to third in the South American World Cup qualifying standings. Garnering twenty-one points after the win, they stood just a point behind 2nd-place Ecuador and seven points behind Argentina, the leading team. After the 4-1 thrashing by Argentina, Brazil dropped to fourth place and now trailing Argentina by ten points.
Meanwhile, the gap between Brazil and the play-off-spot Venezuela has narrowed to just six points. Dorival now really has his work cut out for him. For a team that has only won one of its last four matches, the pressure to secure an automatic ticket to the 2026 FIFA World Cup has now tripled.
Following their humiliating loss to Argentina, captain Marquinhos tendered a heartfelt apology to fans during the post-match interview with Brazilian TV Globo at the Estadio Mas Monumental. He used the word “embarrassing” to describe his team’s performance, stating that both players and the coach must improve if the five-time World Cup-winning nation must reclaim its glory. On his own part, coach Dorival admitted to having a bad plan against Lionel Scaloni’s team.
“Our plan for today’s match didn’t work from the first minute,” he admitted in his post-match interview with the media. “I have to recognize what happened, how our rival outplayed us, and they deservedly got the victory.” The 4-1 loss to Argentina is a bad omen that Brazil must rectify, with emphasis on “must” if it must remain competitive in the South American ranks.
While it is true that Brazil was missing some of its best in the game against Argentina, the same can be said about La Albiceleste. In Brazil’s defense, it came to this war without a lot of playmakers, including Casemiro, Richarlison, and Lucas Paquetá. Additionally, defenders Éder Militã and Bremer were MIA due to ACL injuries. Even if Dorival truly believes Brazil will, as he said, “find a way out,” this match will be remembered as one of the lowest points in the nation’s storied rivalry with Argentina.
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