Brazil turned on the style tonight at the Allegiant Stadium as they moved closer to qualification for the Copa America 2024 knockouts. Check out the best facts and analyse the Opta data with our Paraguay vs Brazil stats page.
Vinícius Júnior played a starring role as Brazil kick-started their Copa America campaign with a commanding 4-1 victory over 10-man Paraguay, who were eliminated from the competition.
The Real Madrid forward scored twice for the Selecao, who opened the tournament with a drab goalless draw against Costa Rica on Monday, while Savinho and Lucas Paqueta were also on target at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas.
Dorival Junior’s side subsequently closed in on a quarter-final spot by moving onto four points in Group D – two behind leaders Colombia, who they will join in the last eight with a draw when the nations meet in their final group outing on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Omar Alderete’s wonderful long-range strike proved academic for Paraguay, as La Albirroja bowed out following their second successive defeat, which was compounded by a late Andres Cubas red card.
Brazil were presented with a golden opportunity to break the deadlock on the half-hour mark. Referee Piero Maza Gomez pointed straight to the penalty spot as Paqueta’s shot struck Cubas’ arm, but the West Ham midfielder could only fire wide from 12 yards out.
Nevertheless, Brazil broke through four minutes later as a lovely move culminated in Vinicius latching onto Paqueta’s throughball, and drilling under Rodrigo Morinigo’s dive.
The Selecao doubled their lead when Savinho tapped home in the 43rd minute, and it was 3-0 in first-half stoppage time – albeit in fortunate circumstances – as Alderete’s attempted stabbed clearance ricocheted back into the net off the onrushing Vinícius Júnior.
The Paraguay centre-half atoned for his mistake in spectacular fashion three minutes after the restart, with a superb 25-yard volley reducing the deficit.
Alisson Becker then pushed Julio Enciso’s dangerous curling strike away during an impressive spell by Daniel Garnero’s side.
However, any hopes they had of a fightback were quashed in the 64th minute when Mathias Villasanti was adjudged to have handled Savinho’s shot, with Paqueta making no mistake from the spot this time.
Paraguay’s misery was compounded with nine minutes remaining, when Cubas was given his marching orders for lashing out at Douglas Luiz.
Vinicius at the Double in Brazil Victory
This had the potential to be awkward for Brazil, who were winless in their last five Copa America meetings with Paraguay, and they were fresh from that disappointing draw with Costa Rica. They enjoyed 74% of possession, completed 695 passes and registered 19 shots in their opener, but to no avail.
However, they scored from four of their six attempts on target today to tighten their grip on second place in Group D, and all but secure their quarter-final spot – with third-place Costa Rica requiring a six-goal swing to displace Dorival’s side.
Having recorded the lowest tallies of touches (45) and passes (23) by any outfield starter for Brazil on matchday one, Vinicius looked back to his best here with the most goals (two), dribbles (17) and touches in opposition box (11) of any player. In fact, his tally of dribbles was the second-most by a Brazilian player in a Copa America match on record (since 2011).
Savinho – brought into the starting line-up after his impressive cameo from the bench against Costa Rica – also got in on the act with his first senior international goal. He became the youngest Brazilian to score a Copa America goal since Gabriel Barbosa in the 2016 edition.
Powerless Paraguay Bow Out
Paraguay do have pedigree when it comes to the Copa America. Two-time winners in 1953 and 1979, they arrived in the United States having only suffered two group-stage exits in the 21st century.
However, it was La Albirroja’s overall record that was the concern, having only registered three wins from a possible 15 heading into this game. They had also lost each of their 18 previous matches when conceding the first goal, so things looked fairly ominous when Vinicius broke through and paved the way for Brazil’s late first-half flurry.
To their credit, Paraguay responded well after the break with Alderete’s wonderful goal and Enciso testing Alisson, and they managed to match the Selecao’s six shots on target throughout the contest.
Nevertheless, overturning such a deficit was always going to be a tough ask, and Brazil eventually got back on track to see out a comfortable victory, which means Garnero’s side join Jamaica in the departure lounge.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Paraguay vs Brazil stats from their Copa America 2024 Group D clash at Allegiant Stadium.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own post-match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Paraguay vs Brazil: Post-Match Facts
- Brazil defeated Paraguay in the Copa America for the first time since the 2001 edition, when they triumphed 3-1 against them in the group stage. Additionally, Brazil scored four goals against Paraguay in this competition for the first time since 1959 (also 4-1).
- Vinícius Júnior scored two goals in the first half against Paraguay, a feat that no Brazilian player had achieved in a group stage match in the Copa America since Philippe Coutinho against Haiti in 2016.
- Vinicius Júnior attempted 17 dribbles against Paraguay, the second-most by a Brazilian player in a Copa America match on record (since 2011), completing seven of them. In 2015, Neymar attempted 19 dribbles against Peru and completed five.
- At 20 years and 79 days old, Savinho is the third youngest player to score for Brazil in the Copa America in the 21st century, after Neymar Jr. (19 years, 158 days in 2011) and Gabriel Barbosa (19 years, 283 days in 2016).
- Three of Paraguay’s last five goals in the Copa America have been scored by central defenders: Junior Alonso and Gustavo Gómez against Peru in 2021 and Omar Alderete tonight against Brazil.
- Alisson made five saves today against Paraguay, the joint-most by a Brazilian goalkeeper in a Copa America match on record (since 2011). Jefferson (2015) and Ederson (2021) also reached that number of saves for the Canarinha in that period.
- Lucas Paquetá is the first Brazilian player to record multiple goal contributions in consecutive editions of the Copa America since Philippe Coutinho in 2016 and 2019. The midfielder scored two goals in 2021 and tonight provided a goal and an assist against Paraguay.
- Vinícius Júnior scored the first brace of the 2024 Copa America. The Brazilian forward took three shots, two of which were on target, with a total of 0.81 expected goals (xG).
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