Paraguay 0-2 Brazil
With a third of the World Cup 2022 qualifying campaign completed, Brazil’s flawless record remains intact as they secured their sixth straight win with a routine 2-0 victory away to Paraguay.
An early goal from Neymar and a stoppage-time strike by Lucas Paqueta did the damage for the Brazilians, who now have a commanding six-point lead at the top of the table after Argentina’s shocking collapse against Colombia.
As for Paraguay, they finally suffered their first defeat of the qualification campaign and have dropped down to the lower half of the table.
Highlights of the game
As posited by SBOTOP in the preview for this match, Tite changed his starting line-up by replacing Gabriel Barbosa with Roberto Firmino. Meanwhile, midfielder Lucas Paqueta made way for another forward in Gabriel Jesus to prepare for a defensive-minded gameplan from Paraguay.
And Jesus’ inclusion immediately paid dividends for Brazil as he played a major part in their opening goal after just four minutes. The Manchester City man sent in a cross to the box which Richarlison missed, but the ball bounced to the path of Neymar, who coolly slotted past Paraguay keeper Antony Silva.
The Paraguay defence, which was missing star centre-back Fabian Balbuena, just could not deal with Brazil’s dangerous attackers, and Neymar made them pay with a clinical finish.
The hosts very nearly hit back immediately, though, as defender Omar Alderete delivered a thumping long-range strike which required a terrific save by Ederson, who got the start over Alisson in the Brazil goal.
Richarlison came close to doubling Brazil’s lead on 13 minutes, but his loose touch allowed Silva to come out of his line and make the crucial save.
Paraguay had another good chance on 24 minutes as Robert Rojas found Miguel Almiron inside the box. But the Newcastle United star’s shot was blocked by Eder Militao.
Richarlison would put the ball in the back of the net deep in first-half stoppage time as he got on the end of a brilliant Neymar pass and buried the ball past Silva. Unfortunately for the Everton striker, the goal was waved off for offside.
Brazil captain Marquinhos should have doubled his side’s advantage 10 minutes into the second half with a header from a corner which he could not get on target.
Neymar failed to find the back of the net with his clear chance on goal on 64 minutes. Meanwhile, Richarlison was denied from getting his shot off by a terrific last-ditch challenge by a Paraguayan defender.
Despite being only down 1-0, Paraguay could not produce a clear chance on goal in the final half-hour. And even with all their pressure, neither could Brazil.
And just like in their 2-0 win over Ecuador, it took the Selecao until stoppage time to secure the victory with a second goal. Substitute Lucas Paqueta pulled off a terrific finish with his left foot to finally put the game to bed.
Key statistics
The statistics for the entire match were quite close. The possession was split 50-50, while Brazil only had slight edges in terms of total shots (13-10) and shots on target (4-3).
But Neymar proved to be the difference. The PSG star produced most of Brazil’s World Cup 2022 highlights once again with six shots, two on target. He also scored his 66th career goal for his country in 105 caps, five of which have come in the first six games of this qualifying campaign.
As for Paqueta, he is now up to three international goals in 15 games and his first goal for Brazil since 2019.
Meanwhile, Brazil’s defence continues to impress. They have now kept five clean sheets in their six qualifying matches, with their two goals conceded by far the lowest in South American qualifying.
What’s next?
With six wins out of six and a six-point lead over Argentina at the top, Brazil’s World Cup 2022 odds to top CONMEBOL are looking very good. They will resume their qualifying campaign in September when they take on Chile.
However, the Selecao must first defend their Copa America crown on home soil. They begin the tournament against Venezuela on June 14. Brazil had narrowly beaten La Vinotinto 1-0 in their first World Cup qualifying matchup in November last year.
As for Paraguay, they kick off their Copa America campaign against Bolivia on June 15.
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