CURITIBA: Brazil got back to winning ways in the South American World Cup qualifiers with a drab 1-0 victory over Ecuador on Friday thanks to first-half goal by Real Madrid forward Rodrygo.

After its first streak of losses in three successive qualifiers, Brazil did just enough to earn the win that lifted the struggling five-time World Cup champions to fourth in the standings with 10 points.

They are eight points behind leaders Argentina and only two points over Ecuador in sixth, the last spot guaranteed a berth at the 2026 finals.

With the 2026 World Cup in the United States, Canada and Mexico expanded to include 48 teams, the top six finishers in South American qualifying will be guaranteed a place at the tournament. The seventh placed South American team enters an inter-confederation play-off.

Playing their first match after a disappointing Copa America defeat to Uruguay in the quarter-final, Brazil had another lacklustre performance, dominating possession but failing to create clear chances throughout the match.

Brazil misplaced too many passes and struggled to connect up front, out of ideas on how to beat Ecuador’s rock solid defensive block.

Ecuador were relentless while applying a physically aggressive pressure high with three hardworking forwards, making the locals uncomfortable when putting the ball in play. They Brazil almost no room to get inside their box either, forcing them to roam the ball horizontally around their penalty area and resort to strikes from long range.

Brazil’s only two shots on target on the first half were made by Rodrygo, who, after stinging the goalkeeper’s hands from a free kick early, were lucky to break the deadlock in the 29th minute. His effort fired from the edge of the box deflected off a defender and arched around the wrong-footed goalkeeper before hitting the right post and finding the back of the net.

Ecuador almost levelled in a counterattack right before the break, but defender Gabriel Magalhaes denied Moises Caicedo’s effort with a last-minute goal-line clearance.

Brazil came back even worse in the second half, with an uninspired Vinicius Jr creating their only shot on target in an absolutely morose 45 minutes, with boos greeting the final whistle.

“We needed this win, doesn’t matter if it was ugly or not. I’m happy with the victory and to have scored, and I hope it helps us getting better and progressing to the level that we want to reach moving forward,” Rodrygo told Brazilian TV Globo.

In other South American qualifiers on Friday, Luis Suarez bade a frustrating farewell to international football as Uruguay were held to a 0-0 draw by Paraguay in Montevideo.

Suarez, 37, announced on Monday he was stepping down from international duty after a glittering 17-year career for Uruguay that saw him finish as the country’s top scorer with 69 goals from 143 appearances.

Suarez was feted in a pre-game ceremony which saw him gathered on the field with his family to receive tributes from fans, as well as a video message of congratulations from close friend Lionel Messi.

“Uruguay is bigger than any player. Starting tomorrow I will be another fan,” an emotional Suarez told fans in an address to the stadium.

But the former Barcelona and Liverpool star, who now plays in Major League Soccer with Inter Miami, was unable to add a 70th goal to his international tally in Friday’s farewell game at the Estadio Centenario in Montevideo.

Despite enjoying 65% possession, Uruguay were unable to find a way through a dogged Para­guay defence in a disjointed match littered with some 24 fouls.

Suarez, whose career at international and club level was dogged by controversies such as his ban for biting Italy’s Giorgio Chiellini at the 2014 World Cup, was one of four Uruguay players to be shown a yellow card in a fractious encounter.

The result left Uruguay in second place in the standings with 14 points from seven games, four points behind leaders Argentina.

In Friday’s other qualifying game, third-placed Colombia needed a late goal from Liverpool’s Luis Diaz to salvage a 1-1 draw with Peru in Lima.

Alexander Callens had fired Peru into a shock lead on 68 minutes, but Diaz headed in from close range eight minutes from time to give Colombia a share of the points.

The result leaves Colombia in third place in the standings with 13 points from seven games.

Published in Dawn, September 8th, 2024