Brazil and Argentina reached the match that will decide everything at the South American Men's Championship in Rio de Janeiro without a loss. The two great rivals on the continent face each other today in "Maracanazinho", with double stakes – the South American title and a direct quota for the Olympic Games in Los Angeles in 2028.
Formally, the tournament has no final. The six teams – Brazil, Argentina, Chile, Colombia, Venezuela, and Bolivia – play each other, and the first in the final standings becomes champion. However, the schedule pitted Brazil and Argentina against each other in the last round, and after four wins for each of them, the match turned into a true final. The champion also receives the only Olympic quota from the tournament, and the top three teams qualify for the 2027 World Cup.

Brazil reached the decisive match without losing a set

Bernardo Rezende's team went through their first four opponents without losing a set. Brazil started against Chile with a 3:0 (25:23, 25:16, 25:21) win, and a day later defeated Bolivia with a 3:0 (25:18, 25:13, 25:16) win.
Another emphatic 3:0 (25:23, 25:14, 25:16) followed against Colombia, and after a rest day, the hosts also defeated Venezuela with a 3:0 (25:19, 25:14, 25:19) win. Thus, Brazil reached the clash with Argentina with four wins, 12 points, and an impressive balance of 12:0 sets.

Argentina is also undefeated

The reigning South American champion began their title defense against Venezuela and won 3:1 (25:16, 25:11, 23:25, 25:13). Another 3:1 victory followed, this time against Colombia – 3:1 (25:21, 25:18, 22:25, 25:23).
In the third round, the Argentinians had to overcome a tough first set against Chile, which they took 28:26, before closing the match with a 3:0 (28:26, 25:19, 25:17) win. On Saturday, Horacio Dileo's team also defeated Bolivia 3:0 (25:17, 25:15, 25:21) and officially secured their participation in the 2027 World Cup.
Thus, Argentina also enters the decisive match with four wins and 12 points, but with two lost sets – one against Venezuela and one against Colombia.

No. 7 vs. No. 14 in the world

Today's match also pits the two highest-ranked South American teams in the world rankings against each other.
Brazil started the tournament with 312.13 points, but the four consecutive victories brought new assets, and before the match with Argentina, the "seleção" is already No. 7 in the world with 317.61 points.
Argentina entered the South American Championship as No. 14 in the world rankings, having 232.41 points before the start of the tournament.
This makes the match important not only for the title and the Olympic quota. The result will also affect the world ranking, which will be of great importance on the way to Los Angeles 2028 for teams that fail to win a direct continental quota.

Three months ago

ForVolleyweek.bgtoday's match also has a special reference to the beginning of the international season.
On June 14, the two teams met in the Nations League in the city of Brazil – a match thatVolleyweek.bgfollowed on site.
Argentina started brilliantly then and took a 2-0 lead after 25:18 and 26:24. It seemed that the "Albiceleste" was about to inflict the first defeat on the hosts in front of their home crowd. Brazil, however, turned everything around.
Bernardo Rezende's selection took the next three sets and won the dramatic match 3:2 (18:25, 24:26, 25:19, 25:23, 15:9).
Three months later, the two teams face each other again in Brazil, but this time the stakes are incomparably higher.
Meanwhile, in August, Argentina defeated Brazil's B team 3:2 in the final of the South American Cup in Cochabamba. However, this match cannot be equated with the VNL encounter when comparing the representative teams.

Argentina defends the title, Brazil wants to reclaim the top spot

Argentina arrived in Rio as the reigning continental champion. In 2023, the "Albiceleste" broke the incredible Brazilian dominance in South America and won the title for the first time since 1964. Brazil has 33 South American titles, but this time, in addition to returning to the continental throne, they are pursuing a much bigger goal – direct qualification for Los Angeles 2028.

Brazil – Argentina starts at 4:00 PM

The decisive match is today, September 20, in the legendary "Maracanazinho" arena in Rio de Janeiro.
Kick-off is at 10:00 AM local time – 4:00 PM Bulgarian time. In Brazil, the match will be broadcast on TV Globo, SporTV 2, and getv.
Calculations before the first serve are practically non-existent. Brazil and Argentina both have four wins and 12 points. The winner will finish the tournament undefeated, will become the champion of South America, and, even more importantly, will leave "Maracanazinho" with a guaranteed spot at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympic Games.

photos: Nikolay Varadinov