The match in Maturín against Venezuela finished 1-1, which was frustrating for Brazil, considered one of the, if not the, best team in the world, also with regard to the dominance in the first half. True, Dorival Jr's side dominated, and at several moments, they created clear-cut chances but without precision in the finish. This eventually cost them two precious points dropped in World Cup Qualifiers 2026.
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Brazil started with intensity. At the eighth minute, Vinicius Junior proved why Real Madrid's star is also a key piece with the national team. In a scorching run, he got around goalkeeper Romo and set up Raphinha, who, with an open goal, shot over the bar. Brazil persisted with the pressure. At the 14th minute, Gerson controlled the ball on his chest and struck from outside the box, narrowly missing. Shortly after, Raphinha watched as his header off the cross from Bruno Guimarães nearly scored.
The best of the half was in the 21st minute. Savinho, for Manchester City, managed a brilliant pass to Vini Jr with a lofted through-ball. The forward, from out of balance, did get a shot away but one that crashed off the post. Brazil's superiority had been outstanding, and the score was still level. Dorival Jr interpreted it, in plain words: "We missed that important detail-finishing. The last touch missing, and the result didn't equate with the match."
The breakthrough finally came in the 42nd minute. From a nicely worked free kick routine, Vini Jr shaped to shoot and allowed Raphinha-the current Barcelona revelation-to strike perfectly. Romo had no chance. It was a well-deserved goal, but the 1-0 lead at halftime felt slim compared to Brazil's dominance.
The expectation was that Brazil would keep control in the second half, but slackness in their defense came back to haunt them. Just seconds after the restart, Segovia was left unmarked and equalized for Venezuela. Dorival didn't mince his words: "We made a mistake coming out of halftime, and it cost us dearly. It was an open, hard-fought game with both teams pushing for a result."
Even after letting in the equaliser, Brazil continued working for their second. In the 16th minute, Vinicius Jr won a penalty and stepped up to take it himself. Romo read it correctly, made the save, and Vini Jr's follow-up shot missed the target. It was an incident typical of the way Brazil struggle to get the finish. Dorival acknowledged the greatness of the Venezuelan goalkeeper: "Romo was having a phenomenal night, making some incredible saves."
Midway through the second half, some tactical changes brought energy to the team courtesy of Dorival: Henrique Luiz for Igor Jesus and Paquetá for Savinho. Then, with the substitution, the attacks were revived, but the winning goal just would not come. Despite relentless efforts by Brazil, Venezuela just would not give up. To sum it all up, there was even that surreal moment in stoppage time when the sprinkler system in the stadium turned on, meaning there was a slight delay as Brazil tried, desperately, to get that late winner.
Even with that disappointing result, Dorival Jr highlighted the team's progress mainly in the first half. He praised the intensity and growth but said there is a need for adjustments. "The team is improving. We'll have better games ahead. Our challenge is to make Brazil play free-flowing, joyful soccer. We're on the right path."
The Venezuelans celebrated this draw like a victory, underlining just how dominant Brazil had been for great periods of the game. For the Seleção, now it's Uruguay in Salvador-a chance to take dominance onto the scoreboard as well. Dorival remains optimistic but firm: "We need to fix these details to secure wins."
With such depth and quality in the Brazilian squad, the victory against Uruguay is fully at their reach. The game will be one more opportunity to show that this team is indeed on its way, as Dorival confidently stated. Now it is time to turn potential into results.
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