After an exciting first half, Brazil once again demonstrated its defensive flaws, wasted several scoring chances and conceded a 1-1 draw to Venezuela this Thursday (14) at the Monumental de Maturín stadium. The match opened the 11th round of the World Cup Qualifiers.
Coach Dorival Junior’s team took the lead with Raphinha’s goal from a free kick, which has been rare in the team’s matches.
However, the team paid dearly for offensive failures and the unproductiveness of its full-backs. To make matters worse, Vinicius Junior was unfortunate in taking the penalty that could have secured the three points away from home.
With the result, Brazil has 17 points in third place, but could be surpassed by Uruguay. The celestial team hosts Colombia this Friday (15). Venezuela, with 12 points, remains far from the World Cup qualification zone.
The result is a bucket of cold water for Brazilian fans, who suffer from the team’s stumbles. It was the first time that the team drew with the wine team on Venezuelan territory. Previously, Brazil had won the ten games under Venezuela’s command.
After beating Chile and Peru, the last two placed in the qualifying table, Brazil did not know how to take advantage of Venezuela’s fragility to pave the way for its reaction under Dorival’s command.
In history, the two teams have faced each other 30 times, and the yellow-green team has 24 wins, five draws and lost only one match — in a friendly match held in June 2008 in the United States.
The superiority of the Brazilian team was clear at the beginning of the game, especially with the inspiration of the trio Gerson, Raphinha and Vinicius Junior. With quick movement along the sides of the field, Vinicius Junior almost opened the scoring after eight minutes of the game and, in the 21st minute, he hit the post after first correcting a touch due to Savinho’s elevation.
It was up to Raphinha to open the scoring with a free kick, in the 42nd minute. Wearing the number 10 shirt, the Barcelona player shot, with his left leg, into goalkeeper Romo’s right corner, and the ball touched the post before going in.
Brazil had not scored a free kick in the Qualifiers since October 2005, 19 years ago. On the 12th of that year, Roberto Carlos was the one who found the net against Venezuela itself.
Dorival Junior’s peace began to crumble in the first minute of the second half. Segovia, who came on after the break, equalized with a shot from outside the box after 40 seconds. Venezuela grew in the match and had a series of flaws in the Brazilian defensive system.
Vinicius Junior wasted a penalty kick and, when the goalkeeper rebounded, he shot out in a clumsy manner.
The team returns to the field for the Qualifiers on Tuesday (19) against Uruguay, at 9:45 pm, at Arena Fonte Nova, in Salvador.
