On the morning of June 29, in the second round of Group D of the Copa America group stage, Brazil, ranked 4th in the world, faced Paraguay, ranked only 58th in the world. In the other match that ended earlier, Colombia beat Costa Rica 3-0 and won all two games to qualify with six points. In the end, with a series of mistakes + gifts from the Paraguayan defense, Brazil defeated the opponent 4-1 to usher in the first victory of this Copa America.
In the first game against Costa Rica, Brazil drew 0-0 with only 3 shots on target from 22 shots in the game, and Vinicius Jr. and others were criticized after the game. In this game against Paraguay, the Brazilian team that cannot afford to miss made two personnel changes in the starting lineup, Savio replaced Raphinha as the main right winger, and Wendell replaced Arana as the starting left wing-back.
In the 14th minute of the game, Paraguayan winger Bovadilla's long-range shot in front of the penalty area was deflected by a defender, and Alisson reacted quickly to save the ball. In the 22nd minute, Rodrygo took a corner from the left and Marquinhos jumped high in the box to head just over the crossbar. In the 31st minute, Paqueta's left-footed long-range shot from the top of the penalty area hit the hands of Paraguayan midfielder Cuvas, and the referee awarded a penalty to Brazil, but Paqueta himself took the penalty but missed the right post!
In the 36th minute, the Brazilian team played a wonderful front-court cooperation, and Paqueta assisted Vinicius to score a goal past the goalkeeper, 1-0! Vinicius, the favourite for the Ballon d'Or who has performed well at Real Madrid this season, finally scored his first goal of this Copa America for Brazil, and his first goal in the last 10 Brazilian team games.
In the 42nd minute, Guimarães shot in front of the penalty area, and the ball hit the goal frame and popped up. In the 43rd minute, Rodrygo took the ball on the left side of the penalty area and shot after consecutive passes were saved, and the Paraguayan defender cleared the ball but accidentally stopped the ball to Savio at the back point, who pushed the empty goal and scored his first goal for the national team, 2-0!
In the 45+3rd minute, the Paraguayan defender made a mistake under Rodrygo's pressure, Vinicius stepped forward alertly, and stabbed the ball into the goal with the opponent's kick, 3-0!
At half-time, Brazil swept away the gloom of the first winless game and led Paraguay 3-0.
Just after returning from the second half, in the 47th minute, Vinicius Jr. had an argument with the opposing player, and the two sides briefly clashed on the field.
In the 48th minute, Paraguay's attack on the right side was cleared, and the central defender Alderet stopped the ball on his chest from 35 yards from the goal and fired a left-footed long-range shot into the bottom right corner of the goal, 3-1! Paraguay pulled one back with a brilliant goal.
In the 64th minute, Savio's left-footed shot hit the hands of the opposing defender, and the referee gave Brazil a penalty again, but Paqueta did not waste the opportunity this time, he pushed the bottom right corner and hit it to help Brazil rewrite the score to 4-1!
In the 86th minute, Cuvas, who sent the penalty in the first half, retaliated and knocked down the substitute Brazilian midfielder Douglas Luiz in a scramble, and was directly shown a red card by the referee, and Brazil led 4-1 with 11 to 10!
In the end, Brazil beat Paraguay 4-1 and will compete with Colombia for the top spot in the group in the next game!