With goals from Vini Jr., Brazil defeats Paraguay and advances to the Copa América

Brazil qualified for the quarterfinals of the Copa América on Friday night (28). At the Allegiant Stadium, in Las Vegas, the team coached by Dorival Jr. beat Paraguay 4-1, with goals from Vini Jr. (2), Savinho and Lucas Paquetá, while Alderete scored for the Paraguayans, who are already eliminated.

With the positive result, the Brazilian team reached 4 points and continues to dream of first place in Group D of the Copa América. Colombia, Brazil’s opponent next Tuesday (2), is the current leader of the group, with 6 points won.

On the other hand, Paraguay said goodbye to its chances of qualifying for the next phase of the competition. The team coached by Daniel Garnero lost both games it played and can no longer reach the score of Brazil, in second place.

The game

The match started out tense, with Brazil nervous and making many mistakes in their passes. Taking advantage of the situation, Paraguay managed to attack and even saw Alisson make some good saves to prevent a goal. This was the panorama of the match until the 30th minute of the first half, since after that Dorival Jr.’s team dominated the game and scored three lightning goals.

Even before opening the scoring, Brazil saw Paquetá isolate a penalty kick, but it was already an indication of the team’s improvement. Minutes later, Vini Jr.’s star shone, as he received the number 8, dribbled past the defender and hit under the goalkeeper, with no chance, to open the score.

With the goal, Brazil increased the offensive pace and it didn’t take long to score the second. Eight minutes later, Rodrygo made an individual play and saw Morínigo make a good save, but Savinho was attentive and took advantage of the rebound to score another goal. In stoppage time, another goal. Vini Jr. took advantage of Alderete’s mistake and scored the Seleção’s third.

Looking to react in the match to avoid being eliminated, Paraguay came back for the second half with everything and soon reduced the score. Alderete took advantage of the rebound from the defense and hit a bomb, in the corner of Alisson, to reduce the deficit.

Brazil, however, did not feel the loss of the goal and continued to dominate the game and create good chances to score. In the 20th minute, Villasanti handled the ball after a shot from Savinho and the referee signaled a penalty. This time, Paquetá made no mistake and scored the fourth goal for Dorival Jr.’s team.

After the fourth Brazilian goal, the match became less intense between the two teams, who created very little. As a result, both coaches started to make substitutions in their teams and the game ended with a 4-1 Brazilian victory.

Upcoming games

Still looking to secure first place in Group D, Brazil returns to the field next Tuesday (2), at 10 pm (Brasília time), when it faces current leader Colombia. On the same day, Paraguay, already eliminated, will just play against Costa Rica.