Gol Raphinha !!! This time it counts. Good move in front of the goal. Thought he wasted it away with that bad first touch. 1 x 0
Agree. That control was sweet. But there was a clear moment where he made the wrong decision to keep juggling. Raphinha just scored his second. This one will count though.
Vini Jr and Telles are looking ok on the left despite the defensive focus there. Coutinho too slow, but occasionally useful. Raphinha the biggest benefactor though as the right side is not as well defended.
I'm begging Tite to put Bruno Guimarães in for Coutinho. Move Paquetá up, let BG pair with Fabinho in the middle.
Sad thing is that Dani Alves touch and passes / crosses can still be so sublime. He reads the game very well.
Honestly, the keeper not coming out made the difference... Vini went for the extra touch when he wanted to be shooting past an onrushing keeper.
I really want to see BG in the second half. Not sure it's the ideal game for him, but it's a good game for changes. This is a training pace but we need to create and score more for it to be productive. I definitely expect to see Gabigol at some point and probably Antony. We know Vini Jr. is not likely to play 90 minutes. Cunha does need to score, I agree with you there, celito.
In other CONMEBOL action, Uruguay solidified their place in the top 4. Nice round of games as they looked in dire situation a couple of rounds ago. Colombia on the other hand ... are now in 7th and 3 pts away from 5th . And Peru still needs to play.
A very good first half - perhaps Tite emphasized to the team that a third straight draw would not be acceptable, all the more against a team below Bolivia in the rankings. The players are showing a lot of vontade, and while Paraguay is far inferior to Brazil, the lopsided ball possession speaks volumes. Vinícius Júnior's speed is something Brazil absolutely needs; when he made that run and wasted that chance because the last kick was a bit too long, I immediately thought of Ronaldo Nazário. He still has plenty of room for growth and improvement, and that is excellent news for Brazil. Barring injuries or unforeseen problems, we're looking at one of Brazil's titulares absolutos for the 2026 and 2030 World Cups. Let's see what the second half brings.
If Peru wins today and Uruguay fall to 5th, Chile has to win in Brazil in the next round or they're 99.99% out. Chile and Colombia will be hoping that Peru loses tonight, or else they're in big trouble. Uruguay will keep 4th if Peru loses, but it might be better for them if Peru wins and creates space between 5th and 6th place.
Beautiful assist by Marquinhos and decent display by Coutinho so far. I think Coutinho will improve a lot now at Aston Villa with Gerrard and has way more chances of going to Qatar than Éverton Ribeiro and Claudinho. On another note, our main problem continues to be some clear chances being missed by our forwards. It should have been 2-0 or 3-0 by now.
Yep. It's a big game for Peru tonight. I didn't even remember Colombia missed 2002, 2006, 2010 WCs. I thought they made more WCs. They've only made 6 in their history.
Colombia need a Tite of their own - with that roster, they should easily be in the top 4. I wouldn't be surprised if Colombia or any other CONMEBOL federation invites Tite to work for them after this year's World Cup. The pace is a bit slower now. Oh, the BH police detained about 20 fans who fought in the first half. Members of torcidas organizadas of Atl. Mineiro and of Cruzeiro. Figures.... dads with kids wouldn't fight unless self-defense called for it.