Under-20: Brazil come from behind to beat Paraguay 3-1 again | OneFootball

Showing great resilience, the Brazil Under-20 national team came from behind against Paraguay to win again 3-1 this Tuesday (31). Despite the identical scoreline to the first friendly, the match played at Canindé was very different: Brazil fell behind in the opening minutes but won with goals from Luca Meirelles, Erick Belé and Isaque, all from the penalty spot, giving new head coach Paulo Victor a 100% record.

Brazil’s Under-20 side started Tuesday’s match with three changes from the lineup that began last Saturday: Ryan, Gabriel Carvalho and Lucca replaced Igor Felisberto, Erick Belé and Isaque. But the game started very similarly to the first friendly: Paraguay trying to speed things up with long balls, making it hard for Brazil to keep possession, and plenty of intense challenges.

The match at Canindé began with intense battlesCredits: Staff Images / CBF

Paraguay’s pressure paid off: in an attempt to play out from the back, goalkeeper João Pedro’s pass went straight to forward Rodrigo Vera. The Paraguayan, all alone, controlled it and finished to open the scoring after three minutes.

Brazil tried to respond quickly to the goal, but struggled against the opposition’s tight marking and found it hard to string together quality passes to build attacks. The solution was to press Paraguay high and force their way closer to the box.

Bruninho won the penalty that led to Brazil’s equalizerCredits: Staff Images / CBF

The right side had been Brazil’s most productive route. And when Bruninho burst into the box at speed, goalkeeper Armoa had no option but to bring him down. Penalty awarded and calmly converted by No. 9 Luca Meirelles, leveling the match in first-half stoppage time.

Brazil came back from the break with a different intensity. And Meirelles had the first chance of the second half, breaking through on the right and firing a shot across goal. This time, Armoa pulled off a miracle save and tipped it out for a corner.

Forward Luca Meirelles scored the Seleção’s first goalCredits: Staff Images / CBF

With little room to keep the ball on the ground, Brazil relied on sharpness to find the second goal. Center back João Souza spotted Heittor’s run in behind and delivered a superb pass. The forward burst into the area and was brought down by Herrera, earning Brazil another penalty. This time, Erick Belé stepped up and calmly finished to turn the game around.

Belé also had a chance to score the third after challenging the goalkeeper, beating his marker and curling a shot, but a Paraguayan defender cleared it off the line. Before the end, though, the forward produced a great move and won another penalty after dribbling past his marker. Isaque converted it to seal the score.

Isaque finished calmly to repeat the score from the first game and wrap things upCredits: Staff Images / CBF

Lineups

BRAZIL: João Pedro; Ryan (Igor Felisberto), João Souza, João Ananias, Kauã Prates (Gustavinho); Zé Lucas (Vitor Fernandes), Gabriel Carvalho (Erick Belé), Djhordney; Lucca (Isaque), Bruninho (Luís Otávio) and Luca Meirelles (Heittor).

Head coach: Paulo Victor.

PARAGUAY: Armoa; Aranda, Herrera, Barreto, Gomes; Ruiz, Vilalba (Gamarra), Cristaldo, A. Vera; R. Vera and Martino (Silvero).

Head coach: Antolín Alcaraz.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.