- The ’10’ was in charge of scoring the only goal for the victory of the Selection against Ecuador.
- Despite the defeat, the Tricolor remains in the direct qualification zone.
The Brazilian national team beat Ecuador 1-0 in Curitiba (south) on Friday in a qualifying match for the 2026 World Cup, putting an end to three consecutive defeats in the South American Qualifiers.
A solitary goal from Rodrygo in the 30th minute, with a shot from outside the area that was deflected by Willian Pacho, gave victory to a Brazil that was not convincing and ended up suffering towards the end.
In the second half, the young Brazilian promise, Estevao, made his debut with the senior team, but the Selection could not find the compass to enlarge the marker.
Ecuador, which saw Sebastián Beccacece make his debut on the bench, almost equalised in the extra minutes when, in a counterattack set up by Kevin Rodríguez, Caicedo had two opportunities to shoot, but his shot failed to enter the goal line.
With the victory, Brazil moves up to fourth place in the table with 10 points, eight behind leaders Argentina, while the Tricolor occupies sixth and the last direct qualification spot for the World Cup, with eight points.
On Tuesday, Brazil will visit Paraguay, while Ecuador will host Peru.
– Match numbers –
- Rodrygo scored his third goal in the South American Qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup, becoming Brazil’s top scorer in the tournament. The Real Madrid forward also tied his teammate Endrick as the top scorer for the Brazilian national team in 2024 (three goals each).
- Estêvão became the fifth youngest player to debut for the Brazilian national team in history, at 17 years and 135 days, doing so just 17 days older than his former Palmeiras teammate Endrick against Colombia in November last year (17 years and 118 days).
- Brazil remains unbeaten against Ecuador at home in official matches (12W 1D). The only draw was in La Tri’s visit prior to today’s match, in the 2021 Copa América (1-1). Brazil did not concede a goal in eight of those matches.
- Lucas Moura made his first appearance for Brazil since October 2018, in a friendly against Saudi Arabia. Of his previous 24 appearances for Brazil, none had come in the qualifiers.
AFP /CONMEBOL:com
