Belo Horizonte: Philippe Coutinho struck a superb second-half goal as Brazil overcame Paraguay 4-0 in their World Cup qualifier here on Wednesday.
Brazil’s Philippe Coutinho. Pic/Getty Images
Leeds United midfielder Raphinha gave the hosts an ideal start by cutting inside his marker before beating goalkeeper Antony Silva at his near post with a low left-footed finish. Coutinho then provided the highlight of the match when he ran onto a Marquinhos pass before rifling an unstoppable 30-yard drive past Silva just after the hour mark. The hosts continued to dominate and went further ahead in the 86th minute through Ajax forward Antony.
Rodrygo on target too
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Real Madrid forward Rodrygo completed the rout two minutes later with an easy tap in after a Bruno Guimaraes cross. The result means Brazil maintain their four-point lead over second-played Argentina in the 10-team South American group. Paraguay dropped to ninth and can now no longer qualify for football’s showpiece tournament in Qatar later this year.
Booost for Uruguay
Meanwhile, young winger Facundo Pellistri stole the show on only his second appearance for Uruguay as the twice former World Cup winners boosted their hopes of reaching Qatar 2022 with a 4-1 win over Venezuela on Tuesday. Chile also gave themselves a lifeline as Alexis Sanchez scored a brace in a 3-2 win at Bolivia in South American World Cup qualifying. Ecuador inched closer to qualification with a 1-1 draw in Peru, who dropped into the inter-continental play-off spot.
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