Brazil

RIO DE JANEIRO — Brazil's forward Raphinha has spiced up their highly-anticipated World Cup qualifying clash away to Argentina on Tuesday by guaranteeing he will score and suggesting the match between the bitter rivals will become more physical than it should be.

"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 against Argentina). I'm going in with everything I've got..."

Vinícius Jr. went from hero to villain in a matter of minutes amongst his Brazil teammates during their 2-1 victory vs. Colombia in World Cup qualifying on Thursday.

The Brazil star scored a superb long distance goal in the 99th minute to secure the much-needed three points. However three minutes later the Real Madrid star rubbed his teammates the wrong way when he was wasting too much time being substituted.

Brazil have called up teenage Real Madrid striker Endrick to replace the injured Neymar for this month's World Cup qualifiers, the country's FA announced on Friday.

Santos forward Neymar was set to make his return to the Brazil team after more than a year on the sidelines due to a knee injury suffered in late 2023.

However, the 33-year-old has been ruled out of World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Argentina after sustaining a muscle injury.

Neymar injury sees him miss international break

Brazil have recalled Santos forward Neymar for this month's World Cup qualifiers against Colombia and Argentina after more than a year, the soccer federation announced on Thursday.

The 33-year-old sustained a knee injury in Brazil's World Cup qualifier against Uruguay in October 2023 and has struggled to get back to his best and secure a spot in the squad.

Neymar Brazil roster inclusion

A former referee has admitted to have spared Lionel Messi from a second yellow card in return for his match-worn shirt.

Chilean refereee, Carlos Chandía, has confessed to having purposefully avoided giving Messi a booking. And all in the plan to receive the Argentine’s jersey at the end of a match.

Chandía was in charge of the 2007 Copa America semifinal match between Argentina and Mexico, with the Albiceleste blowing past El Tri with a 3-0 scoreline. 20-year-old Messi scored a beautiful lob to seal his country’s spot in the final.

The race for the upcoming Ballon d’Or is going to be close.

As anticipation builds for the 2024 Ballon d'Or, the battle for soccer’s most coveted individual award is shaping up to be thrilling. 

After a long 2023-24 campaign, paired with a summer full of international play with the Euros and Copa América, the number of contenders for the award has only increased.

LOS ANGELES — Brazil missed a string of chances and were left to rue a lack of quality in the final third after they were held 0-0 by Costa Rica in their Copa America Group D opener in Los Angeles on Monday.

Brazil, who came into the Copa America on the back of a run of poor results in recent months, dominated possession but lacked precision in front of goal with just three of their 19 shots on target.