Sanket Singh
Vinícius Júnior shone brightly with two goals, leading Brazil to a commanding 4-1 victory over Paraguay in the Copa America group stage.
His first-half brilliance set the tone for Brazil, positioning them well to advance from Group D. In addition to Vinícius Júnior’s goals, Sávio scored in the first half, and Lucas Paquetá converted a penalty in the second half. Paraguay’s lone goal came from Omar Alderete.
“Vinícius played an almost perfect match today,” said Brazil coach Dorival Júnior, praising his dynamic performance.
The match was intense, with five yellow cards and a red card issued. Andres Cubas received a red card in the 81st minute, leaving Paraguay with ten men. Brazil’s Wendell, Vinícius Júnior, and Lucas Paquetá, along with Paraguay’s Fabián Balbuena and Hernesto Caballero, were all shown yellow cards.
This victory was a strong comeback for the Seleção after a scoreless draw against Costa Rica in their opening match, despite dominating with 18 shots to Costa Rica’s 2.
“There was some disappointment after the first match,” admitted Dorival Júnior. “But our performance level was high. We’ve made significant progress in a short time, and we rarely have 20 days to train together.”
With four points, Brazil trails group leader Colombia by two points, who defeated Costa Rica 3-0. A win or draw against Colombia on Tuesday will secure Brazil’s advancement to the knockout stage. Given their six-goal differential advantage over Costa Rica, even a loss is unlikely to prevent the nine-time Copa America champions from advancing.
Paraguay’s exit from the tournament led to a tense exchange between coach Daniel Garnero and reporters questioning the team’s ongoing struggles. Despite being two-time Copa America champions, their last win was in 1979.
“There have been many coaches, but no solutions,” said Garnero. “We’re discussing a match that just ended, not past events.”
Brazil has historically struggled against Paraguay in Copa America, with their last five meetings ending in draws. However, Brazil’s last encounter, a 4-0 win in World Cup qualifying, set the stage for their decisive victory in this match.
After Bruno Guimarães hit the crossbar, Sávio doubled Brazil’s lead in the 43rd minute. A scuffle in first-half stoppage time resulted in yellow cards for Wendell and Balbuena. Vinícius Júnior then extended Brazil’s lead five minutes into stoppage time.
Despite being outshot 8-5 by Paraguay, with Alisson Becker making a crucial save early on, Brazil maintained control. Alderete’s goal early in the second half briefly closed the gap to 3-1, but Lucas Paquetá’s penalty restored Brazil’s three-goal lead.
“We faced two world-class teams,” Garnero said, referring to Paraguay’s previous 2-1 loss to Colombia. “It’s challenging, but the team has shown great effort. We just need to achieve the results.”
Dorival Júnior’s decision to bench Raphinha in favor of other players, with Neymar watching from the stands, proved successful. Raphinha later entered as a substitute in the 72nd minute, replacing Sávio.
Akshay Kumar
