After being defeated 1-0 by Paraguay in the first round of the final quadrangular, Brazil bounced back and beat Venezuela 2-1, despite still displaying poor football.
In a crazy match, Argentina and Paraguay drew 3-3 with two goals in stoppage time.
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Brazil 2-1 Venezuela
Brazil had another weak performance but managed to defeat Venezuela, keeping their hopes alive for Paris 2024.
At the 3rd minute, Endrick delivered a spectacular backheel pass to Maurício at the edge of the box. The midfielder passed to Marquinhos, who placed his shot past the goalkeeper, but Rivas cleared it off the line with his head. It was the only dangerous moment for Brazil in the first half.
At the 10th minute, Andrey lost the ball to Segovia in midfield. The Venezuelan forward advanced and shot to the corner, but Mycael made a good save.
After a lackluster first half, both teams, especially Venezuela, played a more lively second half.
Photo: Joilson Marconne/CBF
At the 5th minute, Venezuela crossed into the box and after a scramble, Kelsy shot, the ball went under Mycael’s legs, but Arthur Chaves cleared it off the line.
Brazil opened the scoring at the 11th minute. Pirani crossed, Endrick flicked it on, and Pec’s shot was blocked. Maurício pounced on the rebound and buried it into the net.
Venezuela equalized at the 21st minute. Rivas crossed into the box, Bolívar beat Arthur Chaves to the ball, who fell in the process, and struck it powerfully with his left foot, leveling the score.
At the 26th minute, Bolívar unleashed a rocket from outside the box. The ball hit the crossbar, bounced on the line, but did not cross the goal line.
Venezuela was dominant. At the 27th minute, Riasco initiated a counterattack, passed to Bolívar, who backheeled it to Lacava. The striker shot with his left foot and scored, but after a VAR review, Bolívar was deemed offside, as he interfered with Lacava’s shot.
Brazil scored the winning goal at the 42nd minute, thanks to Endrick’s moment of brilliance. The Palmeiras prodigy found a spectacular pass to Biro, who shot between the goalkeeper’s legs.
Photo: Joilson Marconne/CBF
With the victory, Brazil occupies the second position in the group with 3 points, while Venezuela sits in the last position with 1 point.
Argentina 3-3 Paraguay
Argentina and Paraguay drew in a match with many twists and turns. The Paraguayans were close to securing qualification, but conceded the equalizer in the last minute.
Argentina started strongly. Just after the kickoff, Castro received a pass from Almada and found himself one-on-one with goalkeeper González, who made a crucial save.
At the 2nd minute, Medina crossed for Solari perfectly, opening the scoring for Argentina.
At the 8th minute, Albiceleste crafted a good team play, Nardoni crossed, Almada shot, and the Paraguayan defense cleared it for a corner.
At the 41st minute, Paraguay equalized from a free-kick. Diego Gómez struck the ball hard, it deflected off Castro, and found the back of the net.
The second half had even more chances.
At the 15th minute, Almada combined with Castro, executed a beautiful dribble past the opponent, and placed his shot, but González saved it.
Paraguay turned the game around at the 25th minute. Diego Gómez provided an assist to Duarte behind the defense, who struck fiercely to put Paraguay ahead.
Photo: X
At the 27th minute, Almada set up Castro with a clear chance. The forward shot, but was denied by González, who made a great save with his feet.
At the 40th minute, Flores made a sliding tackle, got the ball, but then caught Gondou with his studs, and the referee awarded a penalty. Almada converted the penalty down the middle, making it 2-2.
Photo: GettyImages
At the 45th minute, Paraguay once again took the lead. Almada made a defensive error in his pass, Leguizamón passed to Enso González, who evaded the defense and chipped the goalkeeper, scoring a fantastic goal.
Just when everything seemed settled, with Paraguay securing their qualification for Paris 2024, Argentina didn’t give up and managed to equalize at 51′, in the last minute. Almada took a long-range shot, the goalkeeper parried it, and Redondo pounced to score. González saved Redondo’s initial shot, but couldn’t prevent Argentina’s equalizer.
With the draw, Paraguay remains in first place in the quadrangular with four points, while Argentina sits in 3rd place.
The final round in the Pre-Olympics will be on January 11th, and all teams still have a chance to qualify.
Written by Henry Miller.
