Brazil will no longer face Argentina in Australia on June 11, despite tickets already being sold for the game at the MCG.
While Brazil were keen to make the trip, Argentina ultimately refused to take part with the side scheduled to play at Wembley earlier that month.
“Regrettably, event organisers have been informed by Pitch, the Superclasico June 11 2022 match agent, that contrary to their prior agreement and commitment to do so, Argentina are no longer prepared to travel to Australia for the match against Brazil,” organisers said in a statement.
Brazil could still come Down Under for a match with organisers now looking into all options.
Why were Brazil going to play Argentina in Australia?
After long lockdowns during the COVID-19 pandemic, Melbourne are looking to rebuild their status as a home for sport and recently broke crowd records with the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix.
With the rights to this match up for grabs, the state managed to convince organisers to bring it Down Under.
“A lot of hard work by Visit Victoria. Lots of discussions with the international promoter, who also had to talk to the nationals teams,” Victorian Sports Minister Martin Pakula told 3AW.
“Obviously with the World Cup coming up in Qatar in November their preparations are very important so they have to be satisfied that a match here in Australia was a good idea as a lead-up match.
“We made our pitch and got them over the line. These things are always very competitive.”
Brazil are scheduled to play matches in Japan and Singapore in early June.
Why was Brazil vs. Argentina postponed?
There were wild scenes when these two sides were supposed to play each other in September last year.
Just six minutes after the World Cup qualifier began in Sao Paulo, Brazilian health officials stormed onto the pitch after discovering some Argentina players had breached COVID-19 rules when they entered the country.
After a long delay, the match was officially called off.
“By decision of the match referee, the match organised by FIFA between Brazil and Argentina for the World Cup Qualifiers is suspended,” a statement from the South American Football Federation read.
“The referee and the match commissioner will submit a report to the FIFA Disciplinary Committee, which will determine the steps to be followed. These procedures strictly adhere to current regulations.
“The World Cup Qualifiers is a FIFA competition. All decisions concerning its organisation and development are the exclusive power of that institution.”
FIFA ultimately fined both sides with the qualifier now set to be replayed on September 22 in Brazil.
Both Argentina and Brazil have already booked their place at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.
los fiscales de la agencia sanitaria brasileña paralizan el partido. Quieren retirar los 4 jugadores argentinos, que vinieron de Inglaterra, del campo de juego. pic.twitter.com/YEqZUaGWo9
— C.A.B.J. Gol (@CABJGol) September 5, 2021
Have Brazil and Argentina played in Australia before?
Brazil and Argentina have actually faced off in Australia, and Melbourne specifically, quite recently.
On June 9, 2017, the two South American nations faced off at the MCG in the Superclásico de las Américas.
Argentina won the match 1-0 thanks to a goal from Gabriel Mercado with 95,579 fans attending the game.
Prior to that, Brazil played Australia at the same venue in 2017 and walked away 4-0 winners, while in 2007 Argentina also beat the Socceroos 1-0 at the MCG.
Brazil vs. Argentina recent results
| Date | Result | Competition |
|---|---|---|
| Nov. 16, 2021 | Argentina 0-0 Brazil | World Cup qualifier |
| July 10, 2021 | Argentina 1-0 Brazil | Copa America |
| Nov. 15, 2019 | Argentina 1-0 Brazil | Superclásico de las Américas |
| July 2, 2019 | Brazil 2-0 Argentina | Copa America |
| Oct. 16, 2018 | Brazil 1-0 Argentina | Superclásico Championship |
