On Sunday afternoon, Ajax striker Anthony stumbled into the press room at the Johan Cruyff Arena on crutches, shortly after returning to the field from outside the lines during the Clasico, but collapsed with an alleged ankle injury.
Last night, the 22-year-old Ajax player, apparently unimpeded by any physical discomfort, was in the Brazil national team’s starting squad for the first time in their World Cup qualifying match against Chile. In his classic yellow jersey, he had a modest 4-0 victory at the packed Maracana stadium in Rio de Janeiro.
For Brazil, who have already qualified for the World Cup, there wasn’t much at stake against Chile – who still have a slim chance of a final in Qatar – other than a prestigious position. The vanguard that Anthony was a part of as a right winger, with Neymar as central striker and Vinicius Jr. On the left flank, it could be seen as a pre-World Cup experience by national coach Tite, in his last duel for the divine Canary Islands head home.
The 60-year-old coach, since mid-2016 at the head silicoHe has already announced that he will not return as a national coach after the World Cup and for now, only overseas training matches are scheduled in the run-up to the final round.
For a long time, Anthony’s primary debut could be described as “flat”. He wasn’t much involved in the game, and when he did, he struggled with his direct opponent, Gabriel Suazo. After about twenty minutes, the Ajax player tried to pass the Chilean captain Colo Colo with a useful goalkeeper, but then the hardened Chilean player knocked down the weak wing. About 70,000 spectators at the Maracana received a somewhat theatrical crash by Anthony.
The spotlight in the first half was directed mainly at the captain of the Brazilian national team Neymar and Vinicius Junior. Neymar was kicked out of the penalty area by Mauricio Isla five minutes before the end of the first half. Argentinian referee Dario Herrera had little choice but to award a penalty and Neymar scored it with precision.
A little later, Anthony was the basis for the second Brazilian goal. He took a bad kick from goalkeeper Claudio Bravo and immediately passed deep towards Neymar. He cleverly left the ball to the Real Madrid striker, who appeared behind him and passed Bravo to the far corner.
After the break, the Chileans were forced to pay a little more. This logically created more space for Brazil and also for Anthony’s speed. In the event of the outbreak, the Ajax player more or less advanced in the Brazilian’s third goal midway through the second half. He was sent off by central defender Marquinhos and pushed off the edge of the penalty area by Bravo. After falling and with a painful face, the striker ended up inside the penalty area, at which point the referee awarded another penalty kick. Substitute Philippe Coutinho, who entered the team instead of Paqueta, completed the sentence: 3-0.
Fifteen minutes before the time, it was the first base performance in silico On it for Anthony. To the crowd’s delight at the Maracana, Tite took him to the side for Richarlison, who had grown up as a footballer and set off in Rio in Fluminense. The crowd favorite determined the final result shortly before time with a shot into the right corner at 4-0.
Uruguay to Qatar
Brazil ended up winning as the group winner in the South American World Cup group. Argentina, who will play last-placed Venezuela on Friday, are second. Ecuador, who lost Thursday night to Paraguay (3-1), was also ranked, as was Uruguay. That qualified for the World Cup final with a 1-0 home victory over Peru, who are now fifth, qualifying for an Intercontinental Playoff for a ticket to Qatar. Uruguay escaped unharmed in the final stage, when goalkeeper Sergio Rochet looked like he crossed the line after making a save.
For Chile, the streak to the final round is very thin: for a chance at fifth in the group, the team must first win at home against Uruguay on Tuesday. In addition, he should hope that Peru will not win at home against Paraguay and Colombia, sixth after a 3-0 home win over Bolivia, nor in Venezuela.
View the Uruguay and Peru summary, below
Canada
Canada missed its first chance to get a World Cup ticket. National coach John Herdman’s side lost 1-0 to Costa Rica in San Jose, Canada’s first defeat in this playoff. The North American country has two more chances to qualify for a second time to the World Finals, after making its first appearance in the World Cup Finals in 1986.
Canada had to carry on with ten men half an hour later, after Marc Anthony Kay was sent off with his second yellow card. Celso Borges scored in stoppage time from the first half, leaving Costa Rica with 19 points to continue qualifying directly for the World Cup.
“That’s football, too,” Herdmann said. We haven’t lost in 17 games but the football gods were not with us today. We don’t look back, we have our destiny in our own hands. We are going to Qatar.”
Canada still leads the table with 25 points from 12 matches. Followed by the United States and Mexico with 22 points. The mutual confrontation in Mexico City ended in a 0-0 draw. Ajax midfielder Edson Alvarez played the entire match for Mexico, and PSV Eindhoven’s Eric Gutierrez joined the team 10 minutes before the end. Luca de la Torre of Heracles Almelo remained on the bench with the Americans.
Numbers 1 to 3 from Concacaf, a union of countries from North and Central America and the Caribbean, qualified directly for the World Cup. Player No. 4 gets a second chance in the Intercontinental Playoff. Canada can still qualify against Jamaica on Sunday in Toronto, or else Panama will follow with another chance three days later.
Unlimited free access to Showbytes? And that can!
Sign in or create an account and never miss a thing from the stars.
