Brazil forward Raphinha’s fighting talk lights fire under Argentina clash

Brazil's forward Raphinha has spiced up their huge 2026 World Cup qualifying clash against Argentina by guaranteeing he will score and suggesting the match between the bitter rivals will become more physical than it should be.

Argentina (28 points from 13 games) top the 10-team South American group and could even qualify with a win against third-placed Brazil (21 points) at the 85,000-seat Estadio Mâs Monumental in Buenos Aires, should other results go their way. 

Barcelona forward Raphinha, though, had fighting talk about Brazil's chances of an upset. 

“We'll beat them up — absolutely. Beat them up. On the pitch and off the pitch if we have to,” Raphinha said in an interview on “Romario TV” with the Brazilian great.

“For sure I'm going to [score a goal]. I'm going in with everything I've got.”

While Raphinha's comments caused uproar in Argentina, with local media calling his “harsh words” a threat, the world champions' manager Lionel Scaloni played down the rivalry with Brazil and decided not to add more fuel to the fire.

“Warriors on the pitch, good friends off of it,” he said in a press conference later on Monday.

“I didn't go much deeper into players' statements but I'm aware of it. Argentina versus Brazil is an important match but it is still a football match. It doesn't have to go beyond that.

“I remember the image of Leo [Messi] with Neymar after the Copa America final on the steps of the Maracana, that's the image we have to keep. The best in the world and probably the second best together, being friends. That's the image we need.

“It's a football match that we both want to win. We all have a Brazilian friend, I know a lot of them, it shouldn't go beyond that. We don't have to give it much more thought.”

Tuesday's outing at El Monumental in Buenos Aires will be Raphinha's first game in Argentina since 2021 when he was elbowed in the mouth by home defender Nicolas Otamendi and had to have five stitches.

Brazil have not beaten the Argentines in six years, a run that extends to 16 years for matches held in Argentina, who lead the South American qualifying table with 28 points, six ahead of second-placed Ecuador and seven clear of Brazil in third.

If Bolivia fail to beat Uruguay in Tuesday's earlier match Argentina will be guaranteed a place at the 2026 World Cup in the Mexico, Canada and the US with four games left. Otherwise they can clinch a spot with a draw against Brazil.

Brazil coach Dorival Jr wants the team to can prove their critics wrong by ending their winless run against their old foes.

A late 2-1 victory over Colombia on Thursday saw the Seleção return to winning ways after successive draws, Dorival believes Tuesday's showdown could be the ideal situation to prove his side are still a force to be reckoned with.

“We will face the reigning champions of the world and South America, the most successful team in the world in recent years and we will go out there to win, to play our best football and beat them at their ground,” Dorival said on Monday.

“We live in a country that loves to criticise, it’s a shame but that’s what I think. That we love to criticise and rarely get the respect when it deserves. But time puts everyone in their place.

“I understand how football works and I embrace the challenge of being under pressure.”

The last time Brazil won in Argentina was in 2009, a 3-1 victory in Santa Fe. Since their 2-0 win as hosts in the Copa America semifinal in 2019, Brazil have lost three of their last four games against their bitter rivals, all 1-0.

Dorival has failed to earn the trust of Brazil's demanding fans after winning seven of 15 games in charge since taking over in early 2024 after the team spent a year under two caretaker coaches as the Brazilian FA tried and failed to lure Italian Carlo Ancelotti from Real Madrid.

The win against Colombia lifted Brazil to third in South American qualifying with 21 points, one behind second-placed Ecuador and seven from leaders Argentina.

The top six in the South American group qualify directly for the World Cup. 

Reuters