Brazil crush Paraguay

The last time Brazil beat Paraguay in the Copa America was in 2001. Since then, they have drawn four times and lost one match against Paraguay. In three of those draws, in the knockout stages, Paraguay won two and Brazil won one on penalties. After 23 years, Brazil have beaten Paraguay in regular time.

After the stalemate against Costa Rica, Brazil felt pressure against an opponent known for sitting deeper and catching the opposition on the counter. Brazil intended to attack as they did against Costa Rica - what changed against Paraguay was installing conviction – reducing more time on the ball within the opponent’s penalty area and hitting the target. 

Paraguay managed to play a tough game against Brazil, including giving Alisson trouble with shots from outside the area. But it was nothing more than a mirage in the Las Vegas desert. After 30 minutes, the Seleçao took control of the match.

Lucas Paqueta missed a penalty that piled the pressure, but Vinicius Jr reacted quickly and opened the scoring. Savinho added another and Vinicius doubled his tally later on.

The game seemed resolved, but Alderete, who had missed one of the goals, hit a shot on the way back from the break and reduced the score.

Dorival Junior's team continued to control the actions in the second half, turning the score into a rout with a penalty goal from Paqueta and only managing in the final minutes, especially with the numerical advantage after Cubas' expulsion in a move with Douglas Luiz.

Vinicius was the best player on the field, but Paqueta also shared the spotlight and was a character in the game. Despite missing a penalty earlier, he continued actively and participated in all three goals in the first half. And when Brazil had another penalty in the second half, the fans chanted Vinicius’ name, but he caught the ball, took responsibility and kicked it on the same side, only this time hitting the target.

Paqueta looked better when he pulled the strings from the midfield while Rodrygo Goes played as the central attacking midfielder and linked up with Vinicius upfront. Savio on the right side looked better and contributed better by linking up with the midfielders and wingback. Joao Gomes is flourishing as an effective holding midfielder while Bruno Guimaraes is performing better. 

Thank You

Faisal Caesar