Paraguay secured a historic victory in the CONMEBOL qualifiers for the 2026 FIFA World Cup with a 1-0 win against Brazil in Asuncion on Tuesday.

Inter Miami midfielder Diego Gomez, who is reportedly set to join Premier League side Brighton at the end of the season, scored the only goal of the game in the 20th minute when he fired his long-range shot against the post.

The defeat leaves Brazil in fifth place in the table with ten points and ahead of Venezuela, which played a 0-0 home draw with Uruguay on Tuesday, on goal difference.

Paraguay moved up to seventh place with nine points after only its second win in qualifying.

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Despite the defeat, Brazil remains on course for a place in the 2026 World Cup, which will be co-hosted by the United States, Canada and Mexico.

Since the tournament has been expanded to 48 teams, the top six participants from the South American qualifiers will qualify for the final round.

The seventh-placed team in the qualification takes part in an inter-confederal playoff, with the last three teams eliminated.

For Brazil, it is the fourth defeat in the last five World Cup qualifying matches.

Coach Dorival Jr., who succeeded Tite after the Selecao’s elimination in the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup, appeared despairing on the sidelines as his team was clearly inferior and lucky not to lose by an even greater margin.

Brazil failed to register a single shot on goal in the first half and only managed three shots on goal in the entire match, all of which came from a frustrated Vinicius Jr., who was unable to make the same impact for his country as he did for his club, Real Madrid.

Brazil will be looking to get its campaign back on track next month when it travels to Chile before hosting Peru.

– With contributions from Reuters