Vinicius Jr failed to show up for his country as the home side won for the first time in nine games
Things aren’t getting much better for Brazil. After a poor Copa America, and a disappointing start to World Cup qualifying, Dorival Jr.’s side needed to find some form. But it eluded them once again, as Vinicius Jr. and the Selecao attack went missing in a 1-0 loss to Paraguay.
The Selecao struggled early on. Despite having the majority of possession, Dorival side did little with it. Guilherme Arana came closest, seeing his effort cleared off the line. Paraguay, meanwhile, took their one real chance, Diego Gomez rifling a shot into the back of the net.
Brazil looked a better side after half time. Vinicius enjoyed some encouraging moments on the left, while the rest of Dorival’s men poured forward on the break. The Real Madrid winger came close twice, missing a good opportunity off a corner before forcing an acrobatic save out of Roberto Fernandez.
Still, a goal never came. Paraguay, for their part, dug in effectively, and limited Brazil to just three shots on target on the night. The new manager’s woes are already multiplying…
Here, we rates all Brazil’s players featured in Estadio Defensores del Chaco…
Alisson (6/10):
Could do nothing about the Uruguay goal, made a nice save otherwise.
Danilo (6/10):
Played five passes into the final third, and kept Miguel Almiron reasonably quiet. A veteran performance.
Marquinhos (5/10):
Dragged around by Isidro Pitta, and didn’t look at his best on the ball.
Gabriel (6/10):
Won almost all of his duels, effective in the air, and ensured that Paraguay could never really hit it long.
Guilherme Arana (5/10):
Covered ground effectively, but was rather dragged around by Gomez for long periods.
Andre (5/10):
Flew into tackles, patrolled space, but didn’t move the ball too quickly.
Lucas Paqueta (7/10):
Operated effectively in tight spaces, played some neat passes, and connected between the midfield and forward lines.
Bruno Guimaraes (7/10):
A gritty 45 minutes on the defensive side, also passed efficiently. Brazil were worse without him.
Rodrygo (5/10):
Created four chances, got on the ball a bit, but rarely had it in clear areas.
Endrick (4/10):
45 minutes, 11 touches, kicked around a lot. He’s misused as a central striker.
Vinicius Jr (5/10):
Tried to stretch the defence, but ran into double teams often. Still isn’t making it happen for his national team.
Joao Pedro (4/10):
14 touches, 2 in the Paraguay box. Endrick should have stayed on.
Luiz Henrique (5/10):
Barely involved in 45 disappointing minutes.
Gerson (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Lucas Moura (N/A):
No time to make an impact.
Dorival Jr (3/10):
Another miserable showing for a manager who somehow seems under pressure already. Brazil will still qualify for the World Cup, but it’s not looking pretty.
