Miguel Terceros scored the winning goal. © AFP / DANIEL MIRANDA

Victory against Brazil: Bolivia dreams of the World Cup

Bolivia secured the last remaining playoff spot in the South American World Cup qualifiers with a 1-0 win against Brazil.

September 10, 2025

From: dpa/det

At an altitude of over 4.000 meters in El Alto, Miguelito scored the only goal in the final qualifying match for the World Cup.

With the win, Bolivia moved into seventh place, overtaking Venezuela, which had previously been one point ahead before losing 3-6 in the parallel match in Colombia. Venezuela thus drops to eighth place, missing the playoffs and thus the chance to participate in its first World Cup.

Bolivia, on the other hand, will participate in the intercontinental playoffs in North America in March 2026, where six teams will compete in a knockout tournament for two remaining World Cup spots. Their last World Cup appearance was in 1994 in the USA.

Argentina is group winner

Defending champions Argentina lost 0-1 to Ecuador, without superstar Lionel Messi, on the final matchday, but remain top of the group ahead of Ecuador (2nd), Colombia (3rd), and Uruguay (4th). Brazil finished the qualification campaign in 5th place, ahead of Paraguay, the last team to qualify directly. Venezuela (8th), Peru (9th), and Chile (10th) failed to qualify for the World Cup in the USA, Canada, and Mexico next summer.