Brazil’s captain, Marquinhos, has issued an apology to the fans following their “embarrassing” 4-1 defeat to Argentina in World Cup qualifying in Buenos Aires.
Argentina’s goals came from Julian Alvarez, Enzo Fernandez, Alexis Mac Allister, and Giuliano Simeone, securing their World Cup qualification even before the match, thanks to Bolivia’s draw with Uruguay. Matheus Cunha scored Brazil’s only goal, but the defeat marked their worst performance in World Cup qualifiers, leaving their place in next year’s tournament uncertain.
Marquinhos spoke to Brazilian TV station Globo, saying, “What happened here cannot happen again. It’s tough to talk about it in the heat of the moment, but it’s embarrassing.” He continued, “We started poorly, much below our standard, while they were full of confidence and played cleverly. I apologize to our fans.”
Despite missing Lionel Messi, Argentina quickly went 2-0 up within the first 12 minutes through Alvarez and Fernandez. A mistake by Cristian Romero allowed Cunha to pull one back for Brazil, but Mac Allister restored Argentina’s two-goal advantage before halftime. Argentina missed several chances to extend their lead, before Simeone sealed the victory with 19 minutes remaining, sparking wild celebrations among the home supporters.
“It was a historic result, winning 4-1, and it fills us with pride,” said Atletico Madrid’s Alvarez. “I’m so happy for the fans.”
Brazilian forward Raphinha had provoked the Argentina players before the game, claiming they would “beat them up on and off the pitch” and that he was certain to score. A late challenge by Raphinha in the first half led to several Argentina players confronting him, with his teammates needing to step in to separate them.
Argentina’s manager, Lionel Scaloni, defended Raphinha after the match, saying, “I know he didn’t mean any harm; he was just defending his team, and I don’t think he intended to offend anyone.”
Argentina leads the South American qualifying table with 31 points from 14 matches, 16 points ahead of seventh-placed Venezuela. The top six teams automatically qualify for the World Cup. Brazil is currently fourth with 21 points and still faces uncertainty over their qualification with four matches remaining.
