Uruguay 0-2 Brazil
Despite having a depleted rotation, Brazil remain on top of the CONMEBOL standings with a convincing win over Uruguay in last night’s World Cup 2022 fixture.
The pacey duo of Arthur Melo and Richarlison stepped up big for the Selecao as they’ve plundered two goals in the first half to keep their campaign at 100-per cent.
With the Selecao standing alone at the top, it is highly likely that they will be one of South America’s main representatives in the upcoming World Cup showcase which will happen in the near future.
On the other hand, this defeat really hurts La Celeste’s World Cup 2022 odds of advancing since it sent them down to the fifth spot and they are now level with Paraguay with six points.
Not only did they lose badly in this game, but they are also set to miss the services of a key player in Edinson Cavani — who was their hero against Colombia — for the next fixture due to his costly challenge against Richarlison in the second half.
All in all, the Brazilians were simply amazing on both ends of the pitch as they frustrated the Uruguayans to a large degree all evening.
Today with SBOTOP, let us recap on how they did it with yesterday’s package of World Cup 2022 highlights.
Highlights of the game
There were some concerns for this fixture when COVID-19 and injuries struck anew for both teams.
Real Madrid standouts Eder Militao and Casemiro had to withdraw from the Selecao after testing positive for the coronavirus, while Philippe Coutinho, Rodrigo Caio, and Fabinho were all dealing with nagging injuries.
Alex Telles, who also contracted COVID-19 few weeks ago, was given the day off despite finally testing negative recently as a precautionary measure.
Neymar also did not feature in this match as he wasn’t able to make the trip from France, while Atletico Madrid striker Luis Suarez was held out too for La Celeste due to COVID-19.
But even without these stars, this proved to be a sizzler as what my writing colleague advertised in this match preview.
Uruguay managed to have a fast start and their first chance came in the fifth minute when Darwin Nunez launched a right-footed strike inside the penalty area. However, his shot bounced off the crossbar.
And then seven minutes later, Rodrigo Bentancur found a jumping Edinson Cavani for a possible header, but the Manchester United forward’s shot went too wide for goal.
After those two chances, the Selecao finally took control for the rest of the first half and that culminated into goals.
Arthur Melo got the opener in the 34th minute when his shot from outside the box went past Uruguayan goalkeeper Martin Campana to hit the bottom of the net.
Towards the end of the first half, Richarlison got on board when he glanced a header into the net after receiving a lovely volley from Renan Lodi to push their lead to 2-0.
In the second half, Gabriel Jesus had his way over Uruguay’s defence, but they couldn’t extend their advantage.
Uruguay’s last chance came when Martin Caceres scored during the 76th minute. However, the referees didn’t count it after a VAR review.
It simply wasn’t meant to be for La Celeste.
Key statistics
With four straight victories in this tournament, the Brazilians have made their best start in a qualifying campaign in 50 years. It can be remembered that they won all six qualifying matches in 1970.
Arthur Melo finally notched his first goal playing for the Selecao after 21 appearances.
Meanwhile, veteran centre-back Thiago Silva has already compiled 93 caps to draw level with Gilberto Silva as the country’s 12th most-capped player.
The Selecao are unbeaten in the World Cup qualifiers since Tite took charge four years ago, with 14 wins and two draws. They’ve also managed to score 42 goals while conceding just five.
Uruguay team manager Oscar Tabarez has yet to taste victory against Brazil since his hiring (L7, D2). La Celeste have never defeated Brazil since 2001.
What’s next?
The international break is now over and our favourite footballers will now go back to their respective mother clubs.
The next set of the World Cup 2022 qualifiers will continue on late March 2021 as they will round out the group stages.
On March 25th, Brazil will visit Colombia over at the Estadio El Campin, while Uruguay will face another powerhouse in Argentina on the road.
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