World Cup 2026: This Meeting With Chile is a Stroll for Brazil

Brazil vs Chile

With just two games to play, the South American World Cup 2026 qualifiers are almost resolved, and there’s a dead rubber at play when Brazil vs. Chile kicks off on Friday.

Brazil are in third place in the CONMEBOL standings and have already qualified for the 2026 finals, while Chile sit rock bottom and are playing merely for pride. There is a point for Brazil to prove too, as only three points separate third from sixth, with current World Champions Argentina streets ahead of the rest. New manager Carlo Ancelotti will be keen to see that gap between the two South American heavyweights closed before they head to the USA next summer.

Meanwhile, La Roja, managed in the interim by Nicolas Cordova, have missed out on World Cup qualification for the third time in succession and their only hope is to sneak off the bottom place in the CONMEBOL table. But the SBOTOP World Cup 2026 odds are pretty damn sure they won’t be climbing anywhere this week.

 

Talking Points

Ancelotti helps his old club      

After leaving Real Madrid at the end of the last La Liga campaign, Ancelotti has presided over two games for Brazil, a 0-0 draw in Ecuador and a 1-0 victory over Paraguay, a result that was enough for the Selecao to book their tickets for the USA.

With Champions League football about to begin, which will all add to the fixture load of Europe’s top clubs, Ancelotti has done Los Blancos a favour by leaving Vinicius Junior, Rodrygo, Eder Militao, and Endrick all in Spain to train with their teammates and have a short rest before the next round of domestic fixtures starts.

Over in England, Manchester United striker Matheus Cunha is sidelined after he picked up an injury during the Red Devils’ 3-2 win over Burnley at the weekend, and that means Barcelona star Raphinha and Chelsea’s Joao Pedro are in line to start up front for the Selecao.  

At the other end of the pitch, Liverpool’s Alisson will most likely be the last line of defence in goal. PSG centre-back Marquinhos is set to make his 100^th appearance for Brazil, alongside Arsenal’s Gabriel, with the youngster Wesley Franca, now at Roma, hoping to slot in at right-back.    

 

Cordova takes a clean sweep of Chile’s failing squad  

The new head coach, Cordova, has stepped in to manage La Roja through their final two games. The sole aim is to avoid two defeats and maybe even climb off the bottom spot. A trip to Brazil would not be on Cordova’s wish list, as this team has scored just one goal and earned one point in their eight qualifiers away from home so far. Chile need to win one of their final two games to have a slim chance of beating Peru to ninth place, and their final game is against another South American heavyweight, Uruguay, who are sitting pretty in fourth.

Cordova has made a ruthless clearout of the squad, dropping 13 players, including the legendary pair of Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal, and he is hoping to usher in a new era for La Roja. 20 of the Chile squad have fewer than 10 caps, and nine are yet to make their international debut.         

Without a capped keeper in the squad, Swansea City’s Lawrence Vigouroux could get the nod, while there is some experience in the Chile defence in the shape of Sevilla’s left-back Gabriel Suazo. Up front, Derby County striker Ben Brereton Diaz is the most experienced campaigner with seven goals in 35 games, while Everton’s 20-year-old Emiliano Ramos could be in line to make his debut.  

 

History

Brazil are five-time World Cup winners, the last occasion in 2002, while Chile’s best effort was a third-place finish way back in 1962.

And the Selecao have had much the better of the head-to-heads. Of the 76 meetings, Brazil have won 54, drawn 14, and lost eight, scoring 172 goals to La Roja’s 62. The last time they met, Brazil secured a 2-1 win to make it five on the run against Chile.    

In terms of recent World Cup 2026 results, Brazil have had two wins, one draw, and one defeat in 2025. After smacking Panama 6-1 in a friendly in January, La Roja has fallen to three defeats and a draw without scoring a single goal.

 

Betting Tip

With Brazil pretty much nailed on at odds of 1.22, the draw at 6.45, and Chile way out at 16.00, this is only going one way: a clean sheet and an easy win for the Selecao.   

   

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