New Brazil boss Tite heaped praise on goalscorers Neymar and Gabriel Jesus after the Selecao’s 3-0 defeat of Ecuador in a World Cup qualifier on Thursday.
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After Neymar opened the scoring with a penalty-kick goal, Gabriel Jesus took over. From them on, the Brazilians controlled the game, and Gabriel Jesus scored twice in the final 15 minutes.
Jesus had won the penalty for the first goal after bursting into the area and drawing a foul from Ecuador goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez. “I am very happy to score on my debut not just for the goals but for the debut and the team”. For some critics, the home team was the favorites, despite Brazil’s recent Olympic gold medal win – only five gold-medal winners remain in the squad. Unlike the team who was eliminated by Peru in the group stage of Copa America, Brazil showed creativity to attack.
Ecuador’s comeback chances were dealt a blow in the 76th minute as Juan Carlos Paredes was given his marching orders for a studs-up tackle on Renato, earning him a second yellow.
Miranda will captain his country against Ecuador in a crucial World Cup qualifier, with Brazil sitting outside the Top 5 having drawn three games out of six, and often flattered to deceive. Uruguay stayed on 13. Bolivia is always hard to beat at home playing at 3,600 meters (11,800 feet) in La Paz.
In earlier matches, Colombia overcame Venezuela 2-0 in Barranquilla, while Bolivia’s new coach Angel Guillermo Hoyos got his reign off to the flawless start with a 2-0 win over fellow strugglers Peru.
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James Rodriguez scored in first-half stoppage time, and Macnelly Torres scored in the 80th to keep Colombia on track for a spot in Russian Federation. Venezuela has only one point.
