So, the Peru goal basically was the decider. Uruguay didn't lose by 8 or more goals Messi bailed Argentina out. Colombia did what they had to. That's the top 4 Peru's goal put them in 5th over Chile who were losing 2x0 at the time. Had Chile scored when Bravo went up, they would have qualified. Instead they gave up a third goal. Paraguay threw out their chance so the top of the table really only saw Chile move down significantly and Peru fall to 5th.
Unlike last week, all my feeds were slow and essentially paralyzed. I did finally catch goal highlights of Brazil's victory and read some post-game reports. Neymar did not score, but he apparently performed under Tite's standards: he didn't lose his temper, he passed the ball, and he tried to perform assists. That nobody got red-carded will be very useful since none of Tite's preferred starters will be sanctioned for the opener in the World Cup. This has been a storybook ride, one I had not expected at all in the aftermath of the last World Cup. Tite had us going in a good streak but his failure in the 2016 Copa América was the final straw. We temporarily returned to the top spot of the FIFA rankings, destroyed rivals Argentina 3-0 and Uruguay 1-4, and since Tite took over, we went unbeaten in WCQ. Some people have drawn comparisons to what happened to Argentina in 2002, and while I see why some may make the analogy, I think that tonight's performance, with everyone playing seriously and not taking the foot off the accelerator, demonstrates that Tite's philosophy - play seriously from start to finish, no nonsense, this is life or death - has been well assimilated by all the players. We now have friendlies with teams like England, Russia, and Germany coming between November and next March, and while Tite will need to be very careful as he assesses players' performances in their clubs up until May 2018, I'm confident that he will be as meticulous as he has been so far. Going into 2006 and 2010, I was confident - and I was disappointed. 2014 was an aberration. We may well have to wait beyond 2018 for the Hexa, but this is most probably the most carefully and well-managed squad we'll have going into a World Cup in a very long time - probably not since 1994. Valeu Tite, Valeu Seleção. Agora começa a longa espera rumo à Copa do Mundo de 2018. Pra Frente Brasil, SALVE A SELEÇÃO!
Not exactly. Neymar wasn't a ball hog but he missed another 1 v 1 with the goalie and in the 2nd half another good chance. He did dish it out to Jesus in the 2nd goal. And his temper was an issue. In the first half he stuck his hand in the face of a Chilean player marking him and another ref may have given a red card. He also started arguing with a Chilean player at half time and got the refs attention. Jesus can also have a temper and showed a little bit today by pushing a Chilean player. Tite needs to address this.