Brazil cruise past Paraguay to cement top spot in World Cup qualifying
02 February, 2022
Brazil extended their unbeaten home record to 61 matches on Tuesday after beating Paraguay 4-0 in Belo Horizonte to cement their place at the top of South America's World Cup qualifying group.
The defeat ended Paraguay's hopes of qualifying for Qatar and further bolstered Brazil's position as one of the favourites to lift the trophy in December.
Brazil top the South American qualifying group with no defeats in 15 games and the win extended to 61 matches their unbeaten home record in World Cup qualifiers.
Paraguay, who have yet to win any of their first five games under manager Guillermo Barros Schelotto, are second from bottom of the 10-team group with 13 points from 16 games. It was a successful but frustrating night for Leeds winger Raphinha, who scored one, had another chalked off, and also hit the post. He thought he had put Brazil 1-0 up after just 93 seconds only to see the goal ruled out after a lengthy consultation with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR).
However, with 28 minutes gone Raphinha superbly controlled a long ball from Marquinhos and wriggled between two defenders to put Brazil 1-0 ahead. He was unlucky not to get another early in the second half as he saw his volley come back off the post.
Philippe Coutinho, who recently moved on loan to Aston Villa from Barcelona, got a deserved second for Brazil just after the hour when he placed a sumptuous shot into the top corner of the net from 30 metres out.
Ajax winger Antony made the scoreline more reflective of the play with four minutes left when he curled a left-foot shot past a helpless keeper, before Real Madrid's Rodrygo tapped home a minute later for his first international goal and to round off a commanding performance from the five-time world champions.
Vinicius Jr, Matheus Cunha, and Lucas Paqueta also came close for Brazil, who, with qualification already guaranteed, fielded a much-changed side.
Talismanic striker Neymar was out injured and there were rare starts for goalkeeper Ederson, midfielder Fabinho, left back Alex Telles and captain on the night Dani Alves. New Newcastle signing Bruno Guimaraes made a substitute appearance in the second half.
In the last game of the round, Peru and Ecuador shared the points in a scruffy 1-1 draw in Lima.
Michael Estrada put Ecuador ahead after two minutes but Edison Flores equalised 24 minutes into the second half.
The result takes Ecuador a point closer to qualification. The Andean side sit third in the South American group and are hot favourites to cement a place in Qatar in the final two group matches in March.
Brazil and Argentina have already guaranteed their spots, and Argentina kept pace with their rivals with a 1-0 win over Colombia, courtesy of Lautaro Martinez's 29th-minute goal at Estadio Mario Alberto Kempes.
Argentina trail Brazil by four points with three games remaining.
Source: www.thenationalnews.com