FIFA has agreed to cancel the World Cup qualifier between Brazil and Argentina.
The fixture in September was stopped shortly after kick-off
when Brazilian health officials entered the field claiming four Argentina
players had broken COVID-19 protocols.
FIFA was pushing for the clash to be rescheduled for next
month, despite the fact the game was essentially meaningless with both teams
having already qualified for the World Cup in Qatar later this year.
The confederations of Brazil and Argentina both opposed
FIFA’s demand, with the case taken to the Court for Arbitration of Sport, where
all three parties agreed to the deal.
Brazil’s Tite and Argentina’s Lionel Scaloni argued the risk
of injuries and suspensions were too high for the game to be played, which
would have occurred just two months before the World Cup is scheduled to begin.
With the agreement, both South American teams are free to
schedule friendlies against opponents of their choosing for their World Cup
preparations – where they will be looking to end Europe’s dominance on the
world stage.
Brazil have not won the tournament since 2002 and were
humiliated by Germany in the semi-finals when hosting the tournament in 2014,
where Argentina were subsequently beaten in the final.
Argentina are alongside Mexico, Poland and Saudi Arabia in Group C, while Brazil are in Group G with Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon.
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