Washington (dpa)
After its lackluster debut in the South American Football Cup (Copa America 2024), the Brazilian national team is playing its second match in the competition, which is currently being held in the United States against Paraguay.
The Brazilian national team will meet the Paraguay national team on Friday, at the Allegiant Stadium, in the second round of the fourth group stage of the competition, which also includes the Colombian and Costa Rica national teams.
The Brazilian national team opened its participation in the current edition of the tournament, which it has won 9 times, with a disappointing 0-0 draw with Costa Rica in the first round, which also witnessed Paraguay’s 2-1 loss to Colombia.
Brazil shares second place in the group standings with Costa Rica with one point, two points behind leaders Colombia, while Paraguay is at the bottom of the standings with no points. The first half hour of the match against Colombia went as Argentine Daniel Garnero, coach of the Paraguay national team, had hoped, as his team frustrated its opponent through good and cohesive defensive positioning.
Colombia’s first goal, scored by Daniel Muñoz in the 32nd minute, forced Garneiro to change his tactics, leaving his team in an unenviable position, as it had to try to change the result, but to no avail.
Paraguay has rarely been effective when trailing, losing 18 consecutive matches after conceding the first goal. Meanwhile, the Paraguayan national team lost the last three matches in Copa America, when it was behind in the score during the first half, two of which were in regular time, and the other was on penalties.
The Paraguayan national team has not suffered consecutive defeats in the Copa America within 90 minutes since the 2016 edition in the United States, when it lost 1-2 to Colombia, then 0-1 to the American national team in the second and third rounds, respectively, in the group stage at that time.
On the other hand, the biggest shock came in the first round of Copa America 2024 at the SoFi Stadium in California, when the Brazilian team fell into the trap of a goalless draw with the Costa Rica team, despite the many scoring opportunities afforded to its stars.
Coach Dorival Junior’s men dominated the match, as revealed by the match’s statistics in terms of possession, shots on goal, and expected goals scored by the Brazilians. However, the most important number in the match remained negative, after the “Samba Dancers” failed to score.
After settling for a draw with Costa Rica, the Brazilian national team remained unable to win two consecutive matches in the Copa America, following its 0-1 loss to its traditional rival, the Argentine national team, in the final match of the last edition (Copa America 2021), which was held on Brazilian stadiums.
The Brazilian national team is seeking to repeat what it did 8 years ago in the competition, when it opened its campaign in the group stage with a goalless draw with Ecuador, before sweeping Haiti 7-1 in the second round.
Although the 2016 edition was the last during which Brazil exited the tournament in the first round, it did not witness its failure to win two consecutive matches in the group stage. The last time Brazil lost points in two consecutive group stage matches was during the 2015 edition in Chile.
The Brazilian national team has not lost any match in the Copa America against Paraguay during regular time since defeating them 1-2 in the group stage in 2004, despite the Paraguayans’ victory over the Samba team on penalties in the quarter-finals of the competition in the 2011 and 2015 editions.
In general, the two teams met in 83 matches in various competitions, during which Brazil achieved 51 victories, compared to 13 victories for Paraguay, and the same draw was imposed in 19 matches.
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