Brazil earned a narrow 1–0 win over Paraguay in a match heavily marked by interruptions, fouls, and changing momentum. The sole goal came just before halftime when Vinícius Jr. seized on Matheus Cunha’s assist. In the 44th minute, Cunha’s low pass across the six-yard box met a sharp, calm finish from Vinícius into the bottom-left corner. That goal, scored in the 44th minute, stood as the game’s defining moment.
Brazil had early spells of control, with Raphinha and Gabriel Martinelli both winning free kicks and testing Paraguay’s defence. Meanwhile, Paraguay fought back through set-pieces—corners and headers by Gustavo Gómez, Juan José Cáceres, and Omar Alderete put Brazil under early pressure.
Fouls were frequent and the referee handed out several cards: in the first half alone, yellow cards went to Júnior Alonso for Paraguay and then to Vinícius and Bruno Guimarães for Brazil. The game’s tempo never settled, with numerous stoppages—injuries to Vanderson and Roberto Fernández caused delays, and the referee added extended stoppage time at the end of each half (4 minutes first half, 4 minutes second).
In the second half, Brazil maintained the pressure. Shot attempts from Raphinha, Bruno Guimarães, and Gerson were blocked or saved—Roberto Fernández made several notable stops. Paraguay’s most dangerous moment came in the 60th minute when Antonio Sanabria took a long-range effort that Alisson easily saved. But otherwise, Paraguay offered little sustained offensive threat.
Both sides made tactical substitutions late on. Brazil brought on Danilo, Gerson, Beraldo, and Richarlison (replacing an injured Vinícius). Paraguay responded with fresh legs in midfield and attack by bringing on Agustín Sández, Alejandro Romero, Gabriel Ávalos, Ángel Romero, and Damián Bobadilla.
Real Madrid star Vinicius took two shots in total, hitting the target once and missing one big chance earlier in the half. Despite not registering an assist, he created one chance and remained active in the final third. His passing accuracy was modest at 68% (13 of 19), reflecting a slightly inconsistent distribution. Nonetheless, his impact proved decisive before being forced off with an injury late in the second half.
In the final minutes, Brazil accumulated corner after corner and forced numerous free kicks, but couldn’t convert any into a second goal.