Colombia vs Brazil

Estadio Metropolitano Roberto Meléndez plays host to an exciting 2026 World Cup qualifier between Colombia and Brazil.

Missing out on the last World Cup seems to have been a wake-up call for Colombia, as after going unbeaten in their first four 2026 World Cup qualifiers, they seem well-positioned to erase painful memories from their recent past. However, it’s not all rosy by any means, with ‘Los Cafeteros’ playing out three consecutive draws on the back of a 1-0 winning start against Venezuela on day one. Low scoring remains a common theme in Colombia’s matches. Except for a 2-2 draw against Uruguay on Matchday 3, their three remaining qualifiers in this cycle have seen one or both sides fail to score in matches garnering under 1.5 goals. That was the case during their last World Cup qualifying campaign against Brazil, as they drew 0-0 at home and lost 1-0 on the road.

In the meantime, caretaker manager Fernando Diniz inspired Brazil to a perfect two-game start to their 2026 World Cup qualifying journey, but the wheels have come off afterward. The ‘Selecao’ went winless in both qualifiers last month, drawing 1-1 at home against below-par Venezuela before slumping to a 2-0 defeat to Uruguay. As they stare down the barrel of a three-match winless streak in World Cup qualifying for the first time since 2004, Brazil will seek inspiration from Diniz’s recent Copa Libertadores success with Fluminense. But they cannot get too comfortable, even though they had enjoyed an outstanding 18-game unbeaten run in away World Cup qualifiers (W11, D7) before losing to Uruguay. That’s because they’ve not won on their last three competitive visits to Colombia (D3).