Madness at Maracana as Brazil suffer historic CONMEBOL defeat to Argentina amid violent crowd fighting

Happy Thanksgiving! The international break wrapped up in dramatic fashion with a set of high-stakes matchups in North and South America. I’m Pardeep Cattry with a recap before you begin your holiday feasting.

Footy fix

All times U.S./Eastern

Wednesday, Nov. 22
UWCL: Frankfurt vs. Barcelona, 3 p.m. DAZN

Thursday, Nov. 23
UWCL: Chelsea vs. Paris, 3 p.m. DAZN

Eventful night at the Maracana

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Argentina’s 1-0 win over Brazil last night was not short on drama, to say the least, as several different moments grabbed headlines before and after the match. Here’s a quick rundown of the events in Rio de Janeiro.

Crowd trouble

Kickoff was delayed by roughly half an hour after an incident broke out in the stands between opposing fans that only accelerated after the police got involved. Argentina players even approached the crowd in an effort to calm things down to no avail — goalkeeper Emiliano Martinez at one point was part of the chaotic scene in a brief altercation with a police officer.

Eventually, Argentina captain Lionel Messi led his players off the pitch over concerns for family members that were sitting in that part of the stadium. They came back about 10 minutes later and after a lively discussion with their Brazilian counterparts and the match officials, resumed preparation for the game.

Brazil’s unbeaten run ends

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Argentina picked up their second-ever win at the Maracana thanks to a Nicolas Otamendi header in the 63rd minute, ending Brazil’s unbeaten home streak in World Cup qualifying in the process. Brazil had gone 64 games without a loss and had a 79% win percentage until yesterday’s game, but that number is merely the headlining act for a poor run of form for the Selecao.

Brazil are now in the midst of a four game winless streak and have lost three in a row for the first time since 2001. They only have two wins out of six in World Cup qualifying so far and boast just a 33% win percentage during this run, and as a result are sixth place on the ten-team table with just seven points.

Scaloni teases departure

After the match, Argentina manager Lionel Scaloni hinted that he could soon step away from his role. He arrived at his post-game press conference as scheduled and addressed media members, but took no questions after making a statement.

“I need to think a lot about what I want to do,” he said. “It’s not a goodbye or anything else. The bar is very high and it’s complicated to continue. … This national team needs a coach who has all the possible energy and who is well.”

He offered few specifics, but said he would speak to Argentina Football Association president Claudio Fabian Tapia and the players. He also said the team “needs a manager who has all the energy possible and that is well.”

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Mexico survive penalties to qualify for Copa America

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The Concacaf Nations League quarterfinals came to an entertaining finish last night as Mexico and Jamaica earned semifinal berths and a spot at next summer’s Copa America in the process. After a 2-0 loss to Honduras in the first leg, El Tri leveled the aggregate score in the 11th minute of stoppage time through Edson Alvarez, and then won the series in a penalty shootout.

Mexico were the dominant side but really took their time to showcase it in a performance that came just a few days after they were outplayed by Honduras. For Charlie Davies on Morning Footy, it raised questions about the quality of Mexico’s talent pool and in particular, forward Santiago Gimenez. He has been in fine form for Feyenoord and started the first leg, but was dropped for last night’s encounter.

Davies: “His movement wasn’t sharp. His finishing clearly isn’t sharp with the Mexican national team. If you’re comparing him to Chicharito, Carlos Vela, even Gio dos Santos, when they were at his age with the national team, it was a big difference. … For a Mexican team that is trying to reclaim this excellence in Concacaf, they are missing quality and I think if you’re looking at their talent pool and their youth coming up, have you seen enough from them?”

Mexico was able to avoid the upset, but the same could not be said for Canada. They relinquished a 2-1 advantage over Jamaica in the first leg and lost 3-2 last night at Toronto’s BMO Field, which made the aggregate score 4-4. Despite out-possessing and outshooting Jamaica, Canada lost on away goals and will miss out on next year’s major competitions.

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USMNT advance: The USMNT will also compete in the Nations League semifinals and at the Copa America despite Monday’s 2-1 loss at Trinidad and Tobago which saw Sergino Dest pick up two yellow cards in the span of 20 seconds. Antonee Robinson soared in the latest edition of USMNT stock watch, but head coach Gregg Berhlater is leaving some unimpressed.

Welcome to Miami: The Copa America final is heading to Miami, but Inter Miami will not be headed to Riyadh after the club poured cold water on an announcement that Messi could face Cristiano Ronaldo’s Al-Nassr in preseason.

Hayes’ plans: The new-look USWNT roster offers a hint at the incoming Emma Hayes era, as well as builds on her belief that the player pool should include talent who play their club soccer outside of the NWSL.

European experiences: Here’s a look at how Luciano Spaletti corrected course for Italy after they missed out on the 2022 World Cup, and a discussion on whether or not Germany is in a position of strength after hiring Julian Nagelsmann.

Shaw’s return: Luke Shaw returned to Manchester United after a three month spell on the sidelines, giving a depleted team a boost ahead of a busy stretch of the season.

MLS Cup playoffs: FC Cincinnati’s Pat Noonan is the coach of the year, plus Columbus Crew manager Wilfried Nancy and the Philadelphia Union’s Mikael Uhre chat their teams’ chances ahead of the return of the playoffs this weekend.

Best bets

UWCL: Eintracht Frankfurt vs. Barcelona, Wednesday, 3 p.m.
THE PICK: More than 3.75 goals scored in the first half (+104) — Though the odds do not attribute all of the first half goals to Barcelona, the reigning champions have been in high-flying form all season and will likely keep the pattern of multi-goal games going against Frankfurt. Laura Freigang has been in strong form for the German side with four goals in league play this season, though, so she could add to the first half goal tally.
UWCL: Chelsea vs. Paris, Thursday, 3 p.m.
THE PICK: More than 1.75 goals scored in the second half (+121) — Chelsea are the favorites and their stacked attack including the likes of Sam Kerr and Mia Fishel are poised to showcase just that on Thursday. Don’t sleep on Paris, though — they knocked out Arsenal and are no doubt eager to showcase their credentials against another English side.

What’s on CBS Sports Golazo Network

 Morning Footy (Weekdays 8-10 a.m.): Hosts Susannah Collins, Charlie Davies, Nico Cantor and Alexis Guerreros help fans get their day started on the network’s flagship morning show with highlights, interviews and the biggest soccer storylines. Morning Footy is also available in podcast form, so you’ll never have to miss an episode.

 Box 2 Box (Weekday afternoons): The news-driven show quickly recaps all the latest headlines from around the world with panelists previewing the top matchups of the day. Catch Box 2 Box on CBS Sports Golazo Network on the CBS Sports app, PlutoTV and Paramount+. 

3⃣ Attacking Third (Monday, Wednesday and Friday evening): The leading women’s soccer podcast and social brand is now a live studio show. Just because the NWSL season is over doesn’t mean that our coverage of the women’s game is going anywhere. Our analysts will be breaking down the USWNT. NWSL offseason and European domestic season all winter long.

 Kickin’ It (Tuesday, 7 p.m.): CBS Sports Golazo Network’s new unfiltered interview show returns Tuesday Hosted by Kate Abdo, Clint Dempsey, Mo Edu and Charlie Davies, the group chat candidly with the biggest names from the Beautiful Game and share their stories from on and off the pitch. 

 Scoreline (Daily): Scoreline is the newest place for fans to catch up on all the biggest news and results impacting global football, match highlights from the top soccer competitions and all the can’t-miss goals from the day’s action, starting Thursday and airing seven days a week.

 How to watch: CBS Sports Golazo Network is a free 24/7 channel exclusively dedicated to offering unparalleled coverage of all the top soccer competitions worldwide. You can stream for free on the CBS Sports app, Pluto TV and Paramount+.