Vinícius Júnior scored two first-half goals to lead Brazil to a 4-1 victory over Paraguay on Friday night and put itself in position to advance out of Group D in the Copa America.
“Today, he played almost a perfect match,” Brazil coach Dorival Júnior said through an interpreter. “He was dynamic.”
Sávio also scored a first-half goal for Brazil and Lucas Paquetá scored on a penalty kick in the second half. Omar Alderete scored Paraguay’s goal.
There were plenty of tense moments with five yellow cards and a red handed out. Andres Cubas was sent off for a red card in the 81st minute, forcing Paraguay to play the last part of the match down a man. Yellow cards were handed to Brazil’s Wendell, Vinícius Júnior and Lucas Paquetá and Paraguay’s Fabián Balbuena and Hernesto Caballero.
The victory was quite a response for the Seleção, who opened the tournament Tuesday with a scoreless draw against Costa Rica despite outshooting their opponent 18-2.