Brazilwhich once again has Vinicius Jrhopes this Thursday to confirm his awakening in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, when he faces a Venezuela that promises rebellion at home.
When the word “crisis” tormented the most, the five-time world champions corrected course in the last double pre-World Cup date with victories against Chile (2-1) and Peru (4-0) and will try to ratify that upward trend in their visit to the Monumental Stadium in Maturin.
“I hope we can take advantage of everything we did in the two previous games. We took positive things away,” said the Canarinha coach, Dorival Júnior, in statements released by the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF).
The coach, however, was cautious: “Venezuela is undefeated in its stadium” and “we will have a difficult match.”
La Vinotinto tied with Argentina in their previous home appearance (1-1), on a field flooded by rain. They later lost away to Paraguay (2-1).
Argentina leads the table with 22 points, followed by Colombia, which has 19; and Uruguay and Brazil, which have 16 each. Venezuela has been losing ground and occupies eighth place, with 11 points, outside the World Cup access zone.
Revenge after the Ballon d’Or
After missing the two previous games due to injury, Vinicius Jr reappears with Brazil in the midst of the controversy that aroused the Ballon d’Or, an award for which the Real Madrid winger was a favorite and which ended up in the hands of the Spanish Rodri (Manchester City) . His club boycotted the gala.
“I will do it 10 more times if necessary. They are not prepared,” the footballer promised in a social media message after that disappointment.
And he showed his desire to shine last weekend, with a hat trick that led to Madrid’s rout against Osasuna in the Spanish League (4-0).
Vinicius is called to have a greater role in Brazil’s attack. Neymar is not yet ready and, in fact, he was injured again after reappearing at his club in Saudi Arabia, Al Hilal, while Rodrygo is out of attack this time.
On defense, Eder Militao was off the radar due to a torn ligament in his right knee.
Hit on the table
“Last year we were very sweet, but there were going to be moments when the raft moves,” said the coach of Venezuela, the Argentine Fernando ‘Bocha’ Batita, when referring to the adverse results of his team in recent days.
Batista, in an interview with DirecTV, expressed that Brazil’s visit to Venezuela “is a game to hit the table and show what we are for.”
Venezuela has gone six appearances without winning in the World Cup qualifiers, although it also had a creditable Copa América, in which it finished the first phase with three wins and reached the quarterfinals.
The coach must meet a suspension date.
His assistant Leandro Cufré is expected to take his place on the bench.
Teammates and rivals
Jefferson Savarino is one of Vinotinto’s main offensive assets, much more so when Yeferson Soteldo will be out due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
Savarino will meet in this match Igor Jesus and Luiz Henrique, his teammates in Botafogo, leader of the Brasileirao and finalist of the Copa Libertadores, a trophy that this team will play for on November 30 against Atlético Mineiro in the final in Buenos Aires.
The match will begin at 5:00 p.m. local time, with refereeing by Colombian Andrés Rojas.
– Probable lineups
Venezuela: Rafael Romo – Jon Aramburu, Rubén Ramírez, Nahuel Ferraresi, Miguel Navarro – Yangel Herrera, José Martínez, Cristian Cásseres Jr – Eduard Bello, Salomón Rondón, Jefferson Savarino. DT: Leandro Cufré.
Brazil: Ederson – Vanderson, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhaes, Abner – Lucas Paquetá, Gerson – Savinho, Raphinha, Vinicius Jr – Igor Jesus. DT: Dorival Junior.
