In the 8th round of the group stage of the South American World Preliminary Championship, a key battle was played, and Brazil visited the Chaco Defenders Stadium to challenge Paraguay. Brazil is currently ranked 5th in the world and Paraguay is ranked 62nd in the world. Brazil beat Ecuador 1-0 in the last round, with Rodrygo scoring the winning goal. After 7 rounds, Brazil is in 5th place with 10 points from 3 wins, 1 draw and 3 losses, and Paraguay is in 8th place with 6 points from 1 win, 3 draws and 3 losses. The two teams have met in the last 6 times in the World Preliminary Round, with Brazil having the upper hand with 4 wins, 1 draw and 1 loss.
In this game, Brazil coach Dorivar made changes to the starting lineup, Endrick started for the first time in his career in the No. 9 position, Vinicius and Rodrygo were separated on either side, and the total value of this pair of "Real Madrid Tridents" was as high as 350 million euros! Behind Guimaraes, Andre, Paqueta, Alana, Gabriel, Marquinhos, Danilo formed the defensive line, and goalkeeper Alisson.
After the opening kick-off, Brazil dominated possession, but the attacking side still failed to solve the old problems. Possession of the ball but unable to convert it into a shot opportunity, penetration in the middle could not be scored, and crosses from the wing could not find a connecting point. Paraguay's defensive intensity is also high, pressing high up front and playing with speed through two wings.
The first threatening shot in the first half came from Paraguay, in the 20th minute Paraguay's cross from the left was cleared, Gomez took the ball outside the penalty area and adjusted slightly before shooting with the outside of his instep, the ball was powerful, hit the far post and bounced into the net, Paraguay led 1-0; In the 25th minute, Endrick passed the ball to the left side of the penalty area, Vinicius took the ball and burst into the small penalty area and then reversed the triangle pass, Andre followed up and shot was cleared by Aderet's goal line!
In the 45+1st minute, Enciso made a long shot after adjusting a step outside the penalty area, but unfortunately the ball was confiscated by the goalkeeper; At half-time, Brazil was 1-0 down. In the rematch, Brazil took the lead in making substitutions, Endrick and Guimarães were replaced, Pedro and Luis Enrique came on, and Dorivar intended to strengthen the attack. In the 47th minute, Rodrygo broke through and shot from distance, and the ball went over the crossbar;
In the 53rd minute, Pedro received a cross from his teammates and headed high at the top of the goal; In the 59th minute, Paraguay counter-attacked, but unfortunately the final shot was blocked; In the 68th minute, Brazil besieged the Paraguay penalty area, and Vinicius' shot from a small angle was confiscated; In the 72nd minute, Brazil took a corner kick from the right side, and the front of the small penalty area continued to fight for the top, and the Paraguay players completed the clearance;
In the 73rd minute, Vinicius cut inside on the left side, and then shot from outside the penalty area, and the goalkeeper saved the ball from the bottom line; This is the problem that Brazil is currently experiencing on the offensive end, relying too much on the individual ability of the players, and sharp and tacit cooperation is rare. In the 78th minute, Paraguay won consecutive corners but failed to score. In the 82nd minute, Luis Enrique counter-attacked in front of the goalkeeper and then sent a cross that the goalkeeper fell to confiscate the ball.
After that, both sides failed to find the back of the net, and Brazil lost 1-0 away and failed to overtake Ecuador to move up to fourth. Paraguay, on the other hand, took three points and overtook Bolivia to move up to 7th place. After eight rounds, Ecuador is in fourth place with 11 points, followed by Brazil and Venezuela with 10 points, and Bolivia and Paraguay with 9 points, all of which are likely to be squeezed out of the top 7.