Vinicius Junior scores for the first time with hopscotch. Neymar, Coutinho and Richarlison complete the victory
The Brazilian team said goodbye to the crowd with a golden key. At Maracanã, the 4-0 rout over Chile, with goals from Neymar, Vinicius Junior, Philippe Coutinho and Richarlison, made the team reach its 13th victory in 16 games. In addition to two goalscorers, Guilherme Arana and Antony were other highlights.
This was Brazil’s 50th victory in 62 home matches in the qualifiers. And look at that Tite’s men didn’t even need a flashy football to thrash Chile.
At the end of the first half, Neymar received the ball in the area, tapped inside and left his body to suffer Isla’s contact. The Chilean went after him and committed the foul. Shirt 10 himself hit very well and opened the scoring.
A minute and a half later, at 45, finally Vinicius Junior was disenchanted. Bravo played badly, Antony dominated and gave a beautiful pass to the Real Madrid forward. Shirt 20 carried it inside and hit a left foot cross.
The second half started with Chile going up. Montecinos, who had just entered, invaded the area and crossed for Vidal to score. He was offside, however, and it didn’t count.
A few minutes after entering, Coutinho scored from the penalty spot, extending the score. And the play that led to the goal was very beautiful. Marquinhos made a beautiful launch, Antony touched over Bravo, who left the knee on the Brazilian striker. In stoppage time, when the game looked like it would go 3-0, Richarlison scored a beautiful goal.
In the next round, Brazil faces Bolivia on Tuesday, in La Paz, at 8:30 pm (GMT). Neymar and Vini Jr., suspended, do not play. Chile, with little chance of going to the repechage, receives Uruguay. It has to win and hope for stumbling blocks from Peru and Colombia.
