Preview: Brazil vs. Uruguay – prediction, team news, lineups

Brazil will offer to return to winning ways when they welcome Uruguay in a 2026 World Cup qualifier on Tuesday night, with the two sides finishing fourth and second respectively in the table.

The Selecao come into the clash on the back of a 1-1 draw against Venezuela, while Uruguay secured a 3-2 success over Colombia to swap positions with their division opponents.

Match preview

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Brazil have certainly underwhelmed during their current qualifying campaign, boasting a record of five wins, two draws and four defeats from 11 games, which has left them fourth in the table with 17 points.

The Selecao are five points behind leaders Argentina, but they are just two points behind second-placed Uruguay and would therefore go strong in the division with a win on Tuesday night.

Dorival Juniors side took the lead against Venezuela in their last match, with Raphinha on the scoresheet, but the home team hit back soon after the restart, with the points shared in a 1-1 draw.

Brazil have actually lost their last two games against Uruguay, including a penalty shootout loss in the Copa America 2024 quarter-finals, while they were beaten 2-0 by the Sky Blues in the reverse fixture of this group last October.

The Green and Yellows have won the World Cup on five occasions, but they have not lifted the famous trophy since 2002 and have been eliminated in the quarter-finals in their last two appearances, including in 2022.

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As mentioned, Uruguay will participate in this competition on the back of a 3-2 success over Colombia; It looked like the points would be shared in a 2–2 draw, with Colombia equalizing in the sixth minute of added time at the end of the 90s.

However, Manuel Ugarte had other ideas and scored in the 11th minute of added time to secure a last-gasp win for Uruguay, the result seeing them move into second place in the table, just three points behind leaders Argentina.

Marcelo Bielsas side have won five, drawn four and lost two of their 11 matches in the section and will go into this match full of confidence, having beaten Brazil in their last two match-ups.

The Sky Blues have won the World Cup on two previous occasions – in 1930 and 1950 – but were eliminated in the quarter-finals of the 2022 tournament, so a big improvement is expected in 2026.

Uruguay’s victory over Colombia was actually their first win since beating Canada on penalties in the third-place play-off at Copa America 2024, and they have shared the spoils in four of their last six games in all competitions.

Brazil World Cup Qualifying – South America Form:

Brazil form (all competitions):

Uruguay World Cup Qualifying – South America Form:

Uruguay form (all competitions):

Team news

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Brazil will be without services from Vanderson Tuesday, with the Monaco defender missing through suspension, while Guilherme Arana has withdrawn from the squad due to an ankle problem.

Igor Jesus led the line against Venezuela and the 23-year-old will be looking for his second international goal in this competition, while Vinicius JuniorRaphinha and Savinho is also set to appear in front areas.

Brazil has a number of notable absentees for this match, with Alison Becker, Your Militao and Rodrygo also among those unavailable for selection due to injury.

Vanderson will likely be replaced by Danilowith the 33-year-old in line to win his 65th cap in this competition.

As for Uruguay, head coach Bielsa could make just the one change from the side that took to the field at the first whistle against Colombia, with Ugarte potentially coming into the XI.

The Manchester United midfielder hit a late winner against Colombia last time out and is expected to make the squad against Brazil, but the Sky Blues could otherwise be unchanged.

Darwin Nunez has scored 13 times in 32 caps for his country and the Liverpool striker will once again lead the line, while there should be a fresh start in a wide area for the former Man United forward. Facundo Pellistriwho is now with Panathinaikos.

Brazil possible starting line-up:
Ederson; Danilo, Marquinhos, Gabriel, Abner; Gerson, Guimaraes; Savinho, Raphinha, Vinicius; i jesus

Uruguay possible starting line-up:
Rochet; Nandez, Gimenez, Olivera, Saracchi; Ugarte, Valverde; Pellistri, Aguirre, Araujo; Nunez

We say: Brazil 1-1 Uruguay

It’s a really tough game for Brazil and we have a hard time separating the two teams here; Brazil have been far from their best during this qualifying campaign and we expect Uruguay to be good enough for a point on Tuesday.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match, please click here.

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