Brazil got a room in hot Guayaquil this Thursday: Venezuela drew a historic 1-1 thanks to a superb overhead kick goal by striker Edward Bello. And it cost him the lead in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
Defender Gabriel Magalhas opened the scoring (50) for the 5-time world champions with a header at the Arena Bandnal World Cup Stadium.
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But the Venezuelan attacker (85) equalized with a beautiful pirouette in Vinodindo’s final game. Directed by Argentina’s Fernando Bautista, Fernando Diniz’s Seleção looked very earthy.
Brazil unexpectedly lost their perfect run in September, beating Bolivia (5-1), Peru (1-0), and lost their lead in a tie with Argentina, which had previously won three in a row by beating Paraguay (1-0). Buenos Aires.
Now, with his pride bruised, he must prepare for a more demanding clash: the visit of Marcelo Bielsa’s Uruguay (4th) in Montevideo on Tuesday.
Venezuela, for its part, dropped to sixth place with four points and will start the fourth day against Chile (5th) on the same day in Maturin.
That’s how Venezuela performed the miracle in Guayaba
In the voice of its captain Casemiro, Brazil have confirmed their preference against the only South American side never to qualify for the World Cup.
But the Manchester United (ENG) midfielder warned that he will eventually win at the Arena Pantanal in Mato Grosso (Central-West) state.
“Bocha” Bautista’s men stood up well in the first half, and they made no mistake as Celezo struggled to execute the score that made Dinis shine at Rio de Janeiro’s Fluminense.
Even though he had control of the ball and the pitch, Venezuela goalkeeper Rafael Romo didn’t need to calmly respond to outside shots from Neymar (3), Rodrigo (20) and Casemiro (38).
He notably played on the left flank with Guilherme Arana and Vinicius Jr returning after missing the September games due to injury.
But Yankel Herrera missed a cross and a shot (45+1) to set Ederson up for Darwin Machis in the area. Bautista and his boys were emboldened on Wednesday to say they hoped to “steal something from Brazil”, and they did so with defensive determination, helped by the lack of balance in the Brazilian attack circle.
However, Venezuela’s plan collapsed upon returning from the dressing room. Neymar started to straighten his path in the 18th on his first dangerous trip, from where he finished to the right, so Romo again (49) sent the ball into the corner.
Headed by Gabriel Magalhas, 25, charged at the near post, 25, to shoot past the Ecuador Catholic University goalkeeper and score his first goal with ‘Amarela’.
A score from an Arsenal defender (ENG) opened the match, and both teams played loosely and with plenty of space, freshened by plenty of movement on the bench.
Divorced with networks, replacing Denise Richarlison, with Gabriel Jesus; Bautista attacked two men, Bello, Jefferson Sodelto and Jefferson Savarino.
Four minutes into the game, a corner kick from the Venezuela ’10’ team (62) found the head of Yankel Herrera, who didn’t hesitate to pounce the ball to claim Ederson.
Venezuela warned that they would start spending more time on Brazilian soil, knowing their backline was vulnerable against the ‘Canarinha’s’ speedy forwards.
But the 32-degree heat night in Guayaba was not understood by Neymar, Vinny or Rodrigo. Instead, he connected himself with the audience. Bello honored his surname with a score worthy of a painting, while Savarino made it clear that there was still some work to do by centering the area after receiving a pass from Cristian Cazares on the right. ‘Dinizism’ should be a registered trademark of Seleção.
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With AFP
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