Buenos Aires, March 26 (NationPress) The defending champions, Argentina, have officially secured their place in the 2026 FIFA World Cup without even stepping onto the field, thanks to Bolivia's goalless draw against Uruguay during the qualifiers.

Argentina becomes the sixth nation to qualify, joining the three co-hosts: Canada, Mexico, and the USA, along with Iran, Japan, and New Zealand.

Bolivia was the only team outside the automatic qualifying spots that could have potentially surpassed Argentina in the South American qualifiers. However, their 0-0 draw against Uruguay has rendered it impossible for them to close the gap.

This upcoming tournament will mark Argentina's 19th World Cup appearance. Only Germany and Brazil have participated in more, with their 20th and 22nd editions respectively in Qatar.

Even though Argentina secured their World Cup qualification in advance, they didn’t hold back when they hosted Brazil, delivering a stunning 4-1 victory during the qualifiers.

Thiago Almada skillfully maneuvered around Marquinhos, setting up Julian Alvarez, who managed to weave through two defenders and poke the ball past Bento to open the scoring. Shortly after, Nahuel Molina’s low cross evaded three Brazilian players, allowing Enzo Fernandez to tap in at the back post, as reported by FIFA.

Brazil managed to reduce the deficit with Matheus Cunha intercepting the ball from Christian Romero and firing into the bottom corner from the edge of the penalty area. Nonetheless, Argentina restored their two-goal lead when Alexis Mac Allister connected with Fernandez’s clever pass into the box, steering it past Bento.

Giuliano Simeone capped off the scoring for Argentina with a brilliant finish from a narrow angle, marking his first international goal after Brazil's defense was caught off guard.

Raphinha struck the crossbar with a free-kick later, but it simply wasn’t Brazil's night. Argentina showcased one of their most commanding performances in this fixture and have remained unbeaten against Brazil for six years.