Bolivia beat Brazil on the final day of CONMEBOL’s 2026 World Cup qualifying to secure their place in the inter-confederation playoffs later this year as they try to qualify for the first time since the last time it was held in the United States (1994).
MORE — CONMEBOL standings - Who’s in? Who’s out?
Miguel Treceros scored the game’s only goal from the penalty spot in first-half stoppage time, as Brazil boss Carlo Ancelotti elected to rotate heavily after the first-team unit beat Chile 3-0 last week.
Final CONMEBOL 2026 World Cup qualification table
- Argentina - 38 points (+21 GD) — QUALIFIED
- Ecuador - 29 points (+9 GD)* — QUALIFIED
- Colombia - 28 points (+10 GD) — QUALIFIED
- Uruguay - 28 points (+10 GD) — QUALIFIED
- Brazil - 28 points (+7 GD) — QUALIFIED
- Paraguay - 25 points (+4 GD) — QUALIFIED
- Bolivia - 20 points (-18 GD) — PLAYOFFS
- Venezuela - 18 points (-10 GD) — ELIMINATED
- Peru - 12 points (-15 GD) — ELIMINATED
Chile - 11 points (-18 GD) — ELIMINATED
*Three points were deducted from Ecuador’s total prior to the start of qualification for using a player whose legal passport contained false information.
Bolivia vs Brazil live updates - by Andy Edwards
Bolivia vs Brazil final score: 1-0
Goalscorers: Miguel Terceros (45'+4 - PK)
GOAL! Bolivia 1-0 Brazil: Terceros converts from the penalty spot to take the lead (45'+4)
Bolivia starting lineup
Lampe - Medina, Haquin, Morales, Fernandez - Vaca, Villamil, Matheus - Paniagua, Terceros, Monteiro
Brazil starting lineup
Alisson - Vitinho, Ribeiro, Bruno, C. Henrique - Santos, Guimaraes, Paqueta - Lino, L. Henrique, Richarlison
How to watch Bolivia vs Brazil live, stream link and start time
Kick off time: 7:30pm ET Tuesday (September 9)
Venue: Estadio Municipal El Alto — El Alto, Bolivia
TV Channel/Streaming: Fanatiz
La Verde sit one point behind Venezuela who occupy the solitary playoff spot heading into the final round of games in South American qualifying. Venezuela have a better goal difference (by 12 goals) and host Colombia in their final qualifier. Bolivia know they are up against it with Brazil to face, but this game is being played at over 13,000 feet in El Alto and Bolivia have picked up 14 of their 17 points so far in qualifying at home and are unbeaten in their last six games at the Estadio Municipal El Alto. Bolivia haven’t qualified for the World Cup since 1994 but going into the final 90 minutes they still have a chance.
Brazil have had plenty of struggles during World Cup qualifying and after Dorival Junior was fired, the legendary Carlo Ancelotti has turned up and the Selecao have won two of their last three qualifiers to book their spot at the 2026 World Cup. Brazil beat Chile 3-0 on Thursday and are in second place in the table and they’d love to finish there to underline the progress they’ve made under Ancelotti. There’s still a long way to go before they will be deemed among the contenders to win the World Cup next summer but Ancelotti is laying solid foundations and Brazil have so many talented individuals who can win a game in flash.
Bolivia team news, focus
La Verde have a solid, steady team who have done incredibly well to even be in this position of possibly reaching the 2026 World Cup playoffs. They have conceded more goals (35) than any other team in qualifying but given the huge advantage of playing their home games at extreme altitude, Bolivia are a force to be reckoned with at home. They’ve conceded five goals in each of their last three games against Brazil and they know this will be tough. But given that they very likely need a win to have a chance of reaching the 2026 World Cup playoffs, Bolivia will look to keep it tight and go for it late on.
Brazil team news, focus
Ancelotti has found his best lineup and it is littered with Premier League stars. Seven of Brazil’s starting 11 against Chile play in the Premier League, with Alisson in goal, Gabriel at center back, Bruno Guimaraes and Casemiro in midfield and the attacking trio of Gabriel Martinelli, Estevao and Joao Pedro. Teenager Estevao scored his first goal for Brazil against Chile and the Chelsea youngster is creating a huge name for himself. Of course, Brazil will also have Real Madrid’s Rodrygo and Vinicius Junior (rested for this international break as he was suspended for the first game) to call on in the coming months too, while Lucas Paqueta and Richarlison are also key members of this squad and contributed off the bench against Chile. Ancelotti has so many talented attackers to choose from but it’s all about getting the balance right and he’s kept three clean sheets in his first three games in charge, so he’s made Brazil solid. And then there’s the possibility of Neymar making a sensational, and unexpected, comeback for the 2026 World Cup.
Bolivia vs Brazil prediction
There is obviously huge motivation for Bolivia in this game but it feels like they’re just going to come up short and Brazil’s plethora of attackers will break through late on. Bolivia 1-2 Brazil.
