Brazil and Paraguay are playing their match for the 16th round of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers. The game will take place at Neo Química Arena (São Paulo, Brazil).
Ten teams compete against each other in a double round-robin tournament (18 rounds). The top 6 qualify directly, and the 7th-place team will have to go through the playoffs.
What We Know
- First match: Paraguay - Brazil 1-0.
- Paraguay is nine games unbeaten, despite not having won away from home.
- Four of Brazil’s last five matches ended with BTTS.
Betting Tip: Brazil - Paraguay
Brazil has the necessary talent and home fan support advantage to secure their first win under Carlo Ancelotti. Paraguay’s unbeaten streak feels a bit fluky, and that might be the time it ends. Our pick is Brazil Win, and it is offered at quite appealing odds on its own.
- Betting tip: Brazil win
- Odds: 1.45 (at the time of writing)
- Stake: 7
Brazil
Manager Carlo Ancelotti’s debut was not as successful as Brazil had hoped, though not a disaster either. The goalless draw against Ecuador maintains Brazil in the spots that directly qualify them for the World Cup.
It would take a lot of unlikely scenarios coming true for them to drop out of these spots. They are three points above Venezuela, but that shouldn’t trouble a team like Brazil too much.
If they manage to take care of business against Paraguay, they will be able to shatter any doubts. Considering their attacking talent, this is far from unlikely, especially since their opponents have not managed a single away win so far in the group.
Defensive issues remain, as Brazil has conceded 16 goals in 15 games, while the attack is not quite on the level of past Brazil squads, having tallied a mediocre (for Brazil standards) 20 goals.
Paraguay
Paraguay have managed one of the most impressive achievements in these qualifiers, running a nine-game unbeaten streak. They have won five of those games and they have drawn four, bringing them very close to clinching their spot in the 2026 World Cup.
They have already secured a spot in the playoffs, but their six-point cushion over 7th-place Venezuela might as well be an insurmountable deficit for the latter to overcome.
Paraguay has not dazzled with its performances, but it has been getting the job done. They have an overall very solid 6-6-3 record, and that has mostly been accomplished thanks to a very strong defensive performance, conceding just 9 goals.
The offensive output leaves a lot to be desired, as Paraguay have scored just 13 times in their 15 games, a tally that is rather disappointing. Similarly, their away record has been very poor as well. Just two draws in seven games, losing the other five, and scoring just four times in those games.
