Brazil defeats Paraguay in Copa 2019 quarter-finals
The home team won 4-3 in the penalty shootout after a 0-0 draw in regulation time despite having an extra man.
Paraguay soon showed that they were not easy opponents, despite only reaching the quarter-finals as the third-best team in the group stage. The team led by coach Eduardo Berizzo continued to play disciplined. Their solid style of play caused difficulties for the home stars, similar to what happened to Lionel Messi and his teammates.
The first half was quite balanced. Brazil had more possession but did not create many breakthroughs. They had 5 shots but all were long-range shots that lacked power and did not cause any problems for goalkeeper Fernandez. Paraguay had the best chance with a close-range volley from Derlis Gonzalez but Alisson had an excellent reflex to save Brazil.
Brazil's dominance was only clearly shown in the second half after Paraguayan defender Fabian Balbuena was sent off for bringing down Roberto Firmino. Initially, the referee awarded Brazil a penalty for this situation and did not book Balbuena. However, after reviewing the video from VAR technology, he determined that the foul was outside the penalty area and sent off the Paraguayan defender.
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| Brazilian strikers had a disappointing match. Photo: AFP |
Dani Alves's free-kick that went wide of the post set off a series of attacks from the hosts. Arthur's shot was powerful but it went straight at Fernandez. Minutes later, Gabriel Jesus had a great chance in a sloppy play in front of goal but his volley went wide, much to the dismay of the Brazilian fans.
After Jesus, it was Firmino's turn to miss. This time, goalkeeper Fernandez made an excellent diving save to block the Brazilian striker's cross-angle header. At the end of the match, Brazil made relentless efforts. They maintained pressure and continuously launched shots from many positions. At this time, coach Tite changed the defenders to increase the strength of the attack.
Willian controlled and finished with his left foot but the shot hit the post. Despite attacking but failing to score, Brazil almost paid the price for Paraguay's calculated and lurking play. Gonzalez dribbled the ball and passed it to Escobar, a new player, in a counter-attack but a Brazilian defender covered him in time.
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| Paraguay's disciplined play exposed Brazil's weaknesses. Photo: AFP. |
In the 7 minutes of extra time, Everton and Philippe Coutinho tested the Paraguayan defense. But Brazil's shots were all blocked by the away players. It can be said that Brazil's attack had a disappointing match when Europe's top strikers finished too poorly and Coutinho was lackluster. Unable to overcome the solidity of their opponents, Brazil accepted to enter the penalty shootout.
Alisson showed his class as a top goalkeeper by saving Gomez's first shot. This situation improved the mentality of the Brazilian players quite a lot. Willian, Marquinhos and Coutinho all scored successfully. But Paraguay made no more mistakes. Almiron, Valdes and Rojas all finished with dangerous shots. In the fourth kick, Firmino collapsed under the pressure and shot wide but fortunately for Brazil, Gonzalez also missed the target after that. Jesus' successful kick in the final kick gave the home team a ticket to the next round.