It was not a good night for Brazil, who had Bruno Guimaraes in the middle of the park.
Bruno has been nominated for the Brazil player of the year award, but he might not win it based on Tuesday night’s performance.
The 26-year-old started in midfield alongside West Ham’s Lucas Paqueta and Wolves’ Andre, but was taken off after 45 minutes.
Bruno was replaced at half time by Luiz Henrique, as he endured a premature end to a disappointing night.
The Brazilian media were not kind about Bruno’s performance, with Globo Esporte giving him a score of 4/10. That was the joint lowest of any Brazil player, with Danilo, Marquinhos and Endrick getting the same score.
On Bruno, they wrote: “He failed to play well for the national team once again. Even though he played closer to André, he had difficulty overcoming the Paraguayan marking and verticalizing his actions with the ball. In marking, he often had to occupy spaces in a defensive transition that was far from working in the 4-1-4-1 initially planned. He gave Diego Gomez too much space to correct his poor control and finish to open the scoring.”
The international break ended on a sour note for Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes.
After beating Ecuador 1-0 in their first game, Brazil took on Paraguay in a second 2026 World Cup qualifier.
That meant a meeting between two Newcastle United teammates, with Bruno Guimaraes and Miguel Almiron going head to head.
Both Toon players started the game at the Estadio Defensores del Chaco, but it was Almiron who was celebrating at full time.
Joy for Miguel Almiron as Paraguay beat Brazil
Paraguay beat Brazil 1-0, with Diego Gomez scoring the only goal of the game in the 20th minute.
As expected, the Selecao dominated possession, but were unable to find a way through the Paraguayan defence. They stood firm to hold on for an impressive victory, as they move up to seventh in the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying standings.
As for Brazil, they are in fifth, eight points behind leaders and rivals Argentina.
