Dorival Junior’s side suffered their fourth defeat from their last five qualifiers as their Real Madrid attackers went missing
Things aren’t getting much better for Brazil. After a poor Copa America that saw them exit in the quarter-finals, and a disappointing start to World Cup qualifying, Dorival Junior’s side needed to find some sort of form this September window. But it eluded them once again, as Vinicius Jr. and the Selecao attack went missing in a 1-0 loss to Paraguay on Tuesday.
The five-time World Cup winners struggled early on in Asuncion, as despite having the majority of possession, Dorival’s side did little with it. Defender Guilherme Arana came closest to breaking the deadlock, seeing his effort cleared off the line. Paraguay, meanwhile, took their one real chance, with Inter Miami youngster Diego Gomez rifling a shot into the back of the net in the 20th minute.
Brazil looked a better side during the second half, with Vinicius enjoying some encouraging moments on the left, while the rest of Dorival’s men poured forward on the break. The Real Madrid winger came close twice, missing a good opportunity off a corner before forcing an acrobatic save out of Roberto Fernandez. Still, a goal never came.
Paraguay, for their part, dug in effectively, and limited Brazil to just three shots on target on the night in condemning them to their fourth defeat from eight qualifiers so far.
GOAL rates Brazil’s players from Estadio Defensores del Chaco…
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Goalkeeper & Defence
Alisson Becker (6/10):
Could do nothing about the Paraguay goal, made a nice save otherwise.
Danilo (6/10):
Played five passes into the final third, and kept Almiron reasonably quiet. A veteran performance.
Marquinhos (5/10):
Dragged around by Pitta, and didn’t look at his best on the ball.
Gabriel Magalhaes (6/10):
Won almost all of his duels, effective in the air, and ensured that Paraguay could never really hit it long.
Guilherme Arana (5/10):
Covered ground effectively, but was rather dragged around by goal-scorer Gomez for long periods.
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Midfield
Andre (5/10):
Flew into tackles, patrolled space, but didn’t move the ball too quickly.
Lucas Paqueta (7/10):
Operated effectively in tight spaces, played some neat passes, and connected between the midfield and forward lines.
Bruno Guimaraes (7/10):
A gritty 45 minutes on the defensive side, also passed efficiently. Brazil were worse without him.
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Attack
Rodrygo (5/10):
Created four chances, got on the ball a bit, but rarely had it in clear areas.
Endrick (4/10):
In 45 minutes the teenager managed just 11 touches and was kicked around a lot by the Paraguayan defenders. He’s misused as a central striker.
Vinicius Jr (5/10):
Tried to stretch the defence, but ran into double teams often. Still isn’t making it happen for his national team.
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Subs & Manager
Joao Pedro (4/10):
Fourteen touches, of which just two came in the Paraguay box. Endrick should have stayed on.
Luiz Henrique (5/10):
Barely involved in 45 disappointing minutes.
Gerson (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Lucas Moura (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Dorival Junior (3/10):
Another miserable showing for a manager who somehow seems to be under pressure already. Brazil will surely still qualify for the World Cup, but it’s not looking pretty.