SAN FRANCISCO, October 09, (THEWILL) – Roberto Firmino scored twice as Brazil cruised past Bolivia 5-0 in a dominant display to kick off their 2022 World Cup qualifying campaign in grand style.
The South American football powerhouse barely broke a sweat in their opening CONMEBOL qualifier on Friday, outclassing Bolivia with that Roberto Firmino brace, a goal apiece for Marquinhos and Philippe Coutinho, and a Jose Carrasco own goal to complete the route.
The Brazilian team, coached by Adenor Leonardo Bacchi, more commonly known as Tite, had not played since their 3-0 win over South Korea in a November friendly after the coronavirus pandemic forced World Cup qualifying matches to be postponed in March. Yet, the Selecao did not look like a team featuring for the first time in 2020.
They dominated from the outset and should have scored two goals inside the initial three minutes. However, Everton Soares, first, and then, Marquinhos wasted golden opportunities in the pouring Sao Paulo rain.
Marquinhos did not make the same mistake at the second time of asking in the 16th minute. As soon as he got on the end of a Danilo Luiz da Silva cross, the Paris Saint-Germain defender headed powerfully past Bolivia goalkeeper Carlos Lampe to open the floodgates.
Bolivia’s non-existent defence was again exposed when Atletico Madrid left-back Renan Lodi made an unmarked run into space and whipped a ball across the six-yard box for Liverpool man Firmino to tap home.
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The second period was more of the same as Firmino completed his brace, netting within just four minutes of the restart, ensuring an assist on the record for the impressive Neymar who was at the creative heart of Brazil’s best moments.
Weverton Pereira da Silva, in goal for the injured number one goalkeeper Alisson Ramses Becker, had a relatively quiet game until about the 50th minute when he was called into action by Bruno Miranda’s rising shot.
Brazil showed no mercy as Carrasco deflected the ball into his own net past the hour mark, before Neymar provided the cross for the onrushing Coutinho to head home emphatically with 17 minutes remaining.
Brazil will face Peru on Tuesday, October 13, while Bolivia hosts Lionel Messi’s Argentina on the same day.
THEWILL hopes Cesar Farias’ team will perform better than they did against Brazil to improve their chances. If they do not, there might be another thrashing awaiting them against the other footballing powerhouse of South America.
About the Author
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
