Agency :
Brazil, having confirmed a place at the 2022 World Cup (WC) long ago, entered Bolivia with an unbeaten campaign to protect. The Selecao departed with that unbeaten campaign still very much intact, and with a cherry on top.
Bolivia put up a good fight, but failed to take its chances while Brazil did, and the result was a dominant 4-0 scoreline in favor of the visitors in La Paz. Multiple Bolivian chances somehow went begging, and Brazil put home nearly every chance it had, with Richarlison scoring a brace and Bruno Guimaraes also scoring his first international goal to put a bow on a fantastic performance.
The win for Brazil set a new points mark in CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying, with the 45 points topping the Marcelo Bielsa-led Argentina haul of 43 from 2002 World Cup qualifying.
It wasn’t all easy for Brazil, who is flattered by the score line, but Bolivia couldn’t capitalize on its best moments, and the hosts tired as the game wound down.
On as a substitute, Gabriel Martinelli was also a standout performer, nearly scoring a Puskas Award contender but couldn’t apply the finishing touches to an otherwise incredible move. Brazil now looks forward to a performance in Qatar, where the South American side will be considered one of the top title favorites. Tonight, when it didn’t have its best stuff for all 90 minutes, shows exactly why, as it takes a perfect performance to put them under pressure, and the night was far from perfect for Bolivia.
