Brazil has become the first South American Football team to qualify for the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 following their win over Colombia. Brazil vs Colombia match which was played at the Corinthians Arena saw Lucas Paquetá scoring the match-winning goal in the 72nd minute. Although, the qualification of Brazil is yet to be clear with several matches as a year left for the FIFA World Cup to take place.
Brazil has dominated the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying group, winning 11 of their 12 matches played so far and scoring 27 goals. Their only small glitch in the near-perfect run was a 0-0 draw away to Colombia last month that brought to an end a nine-match winning run. The match also marked their 10th consecutive home qualifier without conceding a goal, another record.
Currently, Brazil is 18 points ahead of fourth-place Chile, which can add only 15 points from its five remaining matches. Sixth-place Uruguay can still total Brazil's 34 points, but it will face Chile in the last round of qualifying, which makes it mathematically impossible for both of them to overtake the leader. The top four teams in South America earn direct entry to the World Cup.
Ecuador (20 points) follows its two major rivals in South American qualifiers, with Chile, Colombia and Uruguay tied with 16 points. The Chileans skip ahead for now on goal difference.
The first half of Brazil vs Colombia match was an aggressive affair with as many as 23 fouls committed between both teams. Despite the error-prone opening half, the match saw a number of good chances created. For Colombia Diaz's curling effort from 30 yards, out and Barrios’ volley looked likely to open the scoring. Brazil, despite dominating the ball and total shots, saw most of their efforts easily dealt by Colombia goalkeeper David Ospina.
While Brazil skipper Neymar was the receiving end of tough tackles, he was the one who provided the assist for Lucas Paquetá to score the match-winner. The Lyon playmaker (Paquetá) scored the winning goal with a shot straight to the keeper's post and effectively granted Brazil their ticket to Qatar. This result comes as a sense of relief for Brazil who will play Argentina on Tuesday at San Juan's Bicentenario Stadium without that added pressure to get their World Cup direct access.
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The fifth-place team in South American qualifiers goes into an intercontinental playoff for a spot in Qatar.