Argentina prevailed against Brazil in a historic head-to-head match shrunk by the chaos and violence between fans at the iconic Maracanã stadium.
Defender Nicolas Otamendi’s second-half header was enough to give Argentina all three points and condemned Brazil to a third straight qualifying defeat for the first time in their history.
Before the match, there was a scuffle between the Brazil supporters and the Argentina supporters.
The Brazilian police tried to stop the chaos but their methods made Messi and his teammates come over and try to calm things down.
A picture showed Aston Villa goalkeeper Emi Martinez climbing up onto the stand and pulling the arm of a police officer to try and prevent him from using his baton on an Argentina fan.
Messi then led the team off the pitch and back into the changing rooms where they stayed for 10 minutes. 30 minutes later, the match started.
In a statement published on its website, the Brazilian Football Confederation (CBF) spoke about the incident.
“This is not a model invented or imposed by the CBF,” the statement added talking about the mixed fans’ approach to football games. The CBF said 1,050 private security guards and 700 military police officers “worked to secure the match.”
“Therefore, the CBF reaffirms that the action, security, and operation plan for the match were strictly followed, as approved by the RJ Military Police and other authorities.”
According to Brazil’s state military police, eight people were arrested, including a woman for allegedly racially abusing a Maracanã worker.
“The truth is that this group continues to achieve historic things, once again,” Messi told reporters after the match, per Reuters. “Obviously, at the beginning, it was bad because we saw how they were beating people.
“You think about the family, the people who are there, who don’t know what’s going on and we are more concerned about that than playing a match. At that point the match was secondary.
“After that, winning this game like this I think is one of the most important wins that this group has achieved. It is something very nice to be able to win here in Brazil, after how strong they have been at home throughout their history.”
The win keeps Argentina top of World Cup qualifiers and Brazil in 6th position without a win in four matches.
There are 18 rounds in South America’s World Cup qualifying system, with the top six teams progressing to the 2026 event while the seventh-placed country will go into the FIFA play-off tournament.
