Brazil will resume their quest for a sixth World Cup title on Friday night when they welcome Bolivia to Belém in the first round of 2026 World Cup qualifying. Brazil are huge favorites to win against Bolivia. Bolivia have one of the worst away records in international soccer and they face difficulties in leaving the altitude of La Paz.
In Qatar, the nation was shaken by Brazil's performance in the quarterfinals against but ultimately defeated by their opponents, leading to the dismissal of manager Tite. Croatia followed Germany and the Netherlands as the team that was seen as the underdog in the tournament but eventually beat Brazil.
The World Cup will return to the United States, where Brazil won the title in 1994, so the five-time World Cup winners will have to get through the qualifiers effortlessly and enter the finals with confidence.
They remain the only nation to have played in every World Cup, and if they can continue to show the form at home that they showed en route to Qatar, they'll hold that record, ignoring the 0-0 match with that was forced to be suspended and never replayed.
Since the qualifiers changed their format in 1998, Brazil have a record of 27 wins, 9 draws and 0 losses at home, and they still hold the amazing record of never losing a qualifier at home.
Instead, Brazil will face a country that has forgotten what it's like to win an away qualifier. Bolivia haven't won a World Cup qualifier on the road since 1993, when they thrashed Venezuela 7-1. Since that time, they have played 64 away qualifiers with no wins and 55 losses, including two seasons in 2006 and 2018 when they lost all nine matches on the road.
Although Bolivia's record is comparable to that of many of the smaller, well-known nations in UEFA and OFC, they have essentially no hope in this competition.
However, they had played Brazil to a 0-0 draw in the 2010 qualifiers, also in that season, where they beat the Seleção with a surprising victory at home.
However, in all of their other seven visits since 1993, Bolivia has lost to Brazil by a combined score of 33-1.
Nonetheless, with seven World Cup places available in South America, Bolivia's chances of making it to the World Cup increased dramatically. That was the only World Cup they have ever progressed to on merit, having been invited in 1930 and 1950, and another advancement would give them a chance to improve on their match record of 0 wins, 1 draw and 1 goal in three World Cups.
Overall, we predict that Brazil will thump Bolivia 5-0 in this match. Brazil's amazing record of never losing a World Cup qualifier at home is unlikely to be threatened by a team like Bolivia. It is highly unlikely that Bolivia, who have not won a single away qualifier in 64 matches, will suddenly end that poor record against an international soccer powerhouse like Brazil, who have another crushing defeat at the hands of Brazil on the horizon.
