Brazil and Argentina can hardly miss a ticket for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. The team of national coach Tite was 4-1 too strong for Uruguay on Thursday evening local time, which closes the international period with only one point from three qualifying matches. Argentina, in turn, needed a single goal to shake off low flyer. Brazil leads the dance with 31 points from 11 qualifying matches, while the team of national coach Lionel Scaloni is a close second with 25 points. Ecuador (17 points), Colombia and Uruguay (both 16 points) follow at an appropriate distance and also have one more game in their legs.
Brazil – Uruguay 4-1
Tite opted for a squad with five changes from the scoreless draw against Colombia, the first misstep in the qualifying cycle. Ederson, Thiago Silva, Lucas Verissimo, Emerson and Raphinha appeared at the start signal at the expense of Alisson, Eder Militao, Marquinhos, Danilo and Gabriel Barbosa. Brazil laid the foundation for the win in the first half and went into halftime with a deserved 2-0 lead.
After ten minutes it was already hit when Neymar had enough space to outsmart goalkeeper Fernando Muslera after a smart pass from Fred over the defense: 1-0. The second goal appeared on the scoreboard eight minutes later: after a good run towards the far post, Raphinha, who made his starting debut, was able to cash in on a rebound after a curled shot from Neymar. Uruguay could hardly counter that, except for a shot from distance by Rodrigo Bentancur.
Brazil took the game in the Arena da Amazônia, in Manaus, after the break. In minute 56, a goal by Edinson Cavani was disallowed for offside and two minutes later the goal was scored on the other side of the pitch. After a quick counterattack via Gabriel Jesus and Neymar, it was Raphinha who shot the ball into the far corner: 3-0. Luis Suárez narrowed the disadvantage after 77 minutes by firing the ball from a free kick behind Ederson with a powerful low shot. Gabriel Barbosa eventually scored the 4-1 with a good header at the far post, after a pass from Neymar.
Antony replaced Lucas Paquetá in the last half hour. The Ajax attacker almost had an assist to his name a few minutes after his entrance. He passed Sebastian Coates into the penalty area through his legs and then watched Gabriel Barbosa aim the ball high over the goal. Minutes before the 4-1, Neymar received the ball from Antony and the left shot ended in the side net.
Argentina – Peru 1-0
A good header by Lautaro Martínez was the deciding factor in El Monumental in Buenos Aires. After nine minutes, Scaloni’s team seemed to be taking the lead, but Cristian Romero’s header was ruled out for offside. Rodrigo De Paul was emphatically present in the first half, sprinkled with beautiful passes and was also at the basis of the 1-0 in the 43rd minute. After a wonderful one-two with Manuel Molina, the midfielder placed the ball perfectly on Martínez’s head.
Jefferson Farfán came in after an hour of play and became the sixth Peruvian player with at least a hundred caps to his name. The veteran earned a penalty minutes later when he was knocked down in the penalty area by goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez. However, Yoshimar Yotun’s effort hit the bar. Lionel Messi did not come into play much due to Peru’s good defensiveness, although goalkeeper Pedro Gallese had to take action on his free kick twenty minutes before the end. Nicolás Tagliafico and Lisandro Martínez stayed on the bench for ninety minutes.