Darwin Nunez and Nicolas de la Cruz scored goals to help Uruguay beat Brazil 2-0 in their 2026 World Cup qualifier. Neymar had to leave the game late in the first half with what looked like a major knee injury.

Neymar, a star player from Saudi Arabia, left the field on a stretcher after getting care for a while. He looked upset.The 31-year-old was playing in his 128th game for Brazil. The five-time world winners had their worst game without him under new coach Fernando Diniz, who will stay in charge at least until the Copa America next year.

Sources from the Brazil Football Association said that the forward had sprained his left knee badly and would be tested to see if there was damage to the ligaments.

Casemiro, the captain of Brazil, said, “In the short term, we need to be realistic and work on getting better.””Neymar leaving the game must mean something important.” I hope it’s not at the end, though. He’s been hurt, and it’s hard for him to pick up his pace again afterward.

After beating Chile 3-0, Venezuela moved up to second place in the CONMEBOL standings with seven points, tied with Brazil and ahead of third-placed Venezuela.

Nunez scored the first goal in Montevideo with a flying header from close range in the 42nd minute. Two minutes later, Neymar went down after a fight with de la Cruz over the ball, making things even worse for Brazil.

In the 77th minute, De la Cruz scored a close-range goal that made it 2-0 to the home team. Nunez set up the goal, which was Brazil’s first loss in 37 World Cup qualifying games.