Brazil vs. Uruguay result: Neymar, Raphinha put on a show in World Cup qualifier

Simon Borg

Brazil vs. Uruguay result: Neymar, Raphinha put on a show in World Cup qualifier image

What could the No. 1 team in the South American World Cup standings and No. 2 in the FIFA world rankings really use right now? How about another attacker. Brazil found one in Raphinha, who scored two goals in his first start for the senior men's team, helping Brazil log its 10th win in 11 qualifying matches, 4-1 over Uruguay.

The meeting between the two traditional South American powers was tabbed as the marquee matchup of the Thursday slate with the Uruguayans fielding their big names Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani in a bid to come away with points from the Arena da Amazonia in Manaus. But the visitors were thoroughly outclassed by the skill, speed and fluidity of the Brazilians, whose attacks were often aesthetically spectacular.

Brazil had barely broken a sweat by the time it found itself 2-0 up after 18 minutes. First Neymar latched onto a floated ball over the top into the box. He worked his magic and found a seam between the defenders on the goal line for the 1-0 lead.

Then Raphinha scored his two goals: The first one was a simple putback at the far post (18th min.), but the second one (58th min.) capped a sweeping attacking move that started just outside Brazil's own penalty area. In five passes, Brazil was on the other end of the field and Neymar fed Raphinha in stride and he did the rest with his finish.

UPDATED STANDINGS: Table, results & upcoming matches

Uruguay's Luis Suarez pulled a goal back on a set piece to make it 3-1, only for Brazil substitute Gabriel Barbosa to get his goal on a delightful service from Neymar, who placed the ball on his head though a VAR check was needed to verify it wasn't offside.

First-place Brazil (10-0-1, 31 points) is getting ever so closer to mathematically securing its place at the 2022 Qatar World Cup. Meanwhile, Uruguay has a battle on its hands to either land one of the top-four places or the fifth-place position, which would guarantee a spot in a play-in series.

Brazil vs. Uruguay final score

  1H 2H Final
Brazil 2 2 4
Uruguay 0 1 1

Goals:
BRA -— Neymar (Fred) — 10th min.
BRA — Raphinha — 18th min.
BRA — Raphinha (Neymar) — 58th min.
URU — Luis Suarez — 77th min.
BRA — Gabriel Barbosa (Neymar) — 83rd min.

Brazil vs. Uruguay live updates, highlights from World Cup qualifier

Standings & results: Updated World Cup qualifying table

(All times Eastern)

Final: Brazil 4, Uruguay 1

83rd min.: Goal Brazil! It's 4-1 thanks to a header finish from Gabriel Barbosa on a sensational ball from Neymar. The referee needed the VAR to verify that Gabigol wasn't offside and the thumbs-up finally came through.

77th min.: Luis Suarez scores! Brazil's lead cut to 3-1. It was a free kick and he finishes it with relative ease. With 13 minutes left, there's still hope for Uruguay. That was only the fourth goal conceded by Brazil during qualifying.

73rd min.: Neymar creates another chance, feeding Gabigol in the box and his shot is stopped. Neymar has been inspired today.

71st min.: SUBS - Fabinho and Raphinha come off. Douglas Luiz and Everton Ribeiro take their place. Like-for-like subs.

66th min.: SUB - Uruguay bring on Facundo Torres for Matias Vecino. Moments later it was Brazil attacker Antony making a defensive play deep in his own end. If Brazil's attackers defend like that, who has a shot against them?

65th min.: And the two Brazil subs combine in the box and nearly score. Antony pokes the ball to Gabigol, whose first-time shot is tipped over the bar by the goalkeeper Muslera. Great save.

61st min.: SUBS - With the result seemingly out of reach, the subs begin. Gabriel Jesus does not get his goal and he comes off for Gabigol. Lucas Paqueta also gets a round of applause with Antony replacing him. Those are some quality subs to bring on. It's going to be a long 30 minutes for Uruguay.

58th min.: Goal Brazil! In five passes, Brazil went from its own penalty area to Uruguay's. Then Neymar fed Raphinha in stride and he buried it. Fantastic move, fantastic finish. Brazil has been brilliant.

51st min.: Again Gabriel Jesus with a chance! His teammates are trying to find him, but Muslera denied him again. It was a predictable shot and Muslera read it the entire way.

49th min.: Gabriel Jesus with a shot on goal and Muslera has to punch away. He wants to get in on the scoring act.

46th min.: Second half is underway and Uruguay make three changes: Caceres, Piquerez and Torreira are on for De La Cruz, Vina and Nandez. No changes for Brazil.

Halftime: Brazil 2, Uruguay 0

Halftime: Deserved lead for Brazil. Whenever its attacking stars were on the ball — Neymar, Raphinha and Lucas Paqueta — they were just dancing past the Uruguayans. They're on another level of skill and it showed on the goals. Uruguay needs a miracle to get something out of this game.

43rd min.: Fabinho gets a yellow and concedes a free kick to Uruguay. Brazil handle the danger.

39th min.: What a chance for Brazil! Raphinha is putting on a show with Neymar. The two combine in the box and Uruguay 'keeper Muslera needs to make a save on a point-blank Neymar shot or it could've been 3-0.

28th min.: Paqueta having himself a game. He nutmegs a defender and his ball in the box goes out to Fabinho who fires way high.

18th min.: Another goal for Brazil! It's Raphinha. He's at the far right post to pick up the pieces on a shot that was saved and he puts it home for the easy finish. Brazil barely breaking a sweat.

10th min.: Goal Brazil! It's Neymar! What a goal it was. Fred floats the ball into the penalty area for Neymar's run. The PSG man rounds the 'keeper and fires the ball past the defenders waiting on the line. Well-worked goal.

7th min.: Neymar goes down just outside the penalty area, but the referee wasn't in the penalty-giving mood. Neymar didn't complain much on that one.

4th min.: Calm start to this match. Teams are not really attacking each other just yet. The crowd is not into it. They're waiting for the players to make the first move.

1st min.: After a moment of silence for COVID-19 victims, we're off.

8:29 p.m.: We're just about ready to kick off here:

Brazil vs. Uruguay: Lineups

Tite makes five changes to his lineup with Ederson manning the nets and Tottenham right back Emerson Royal getting the start. Lucas Verissimo will step in to give Marquinhos a breather and Raphinha will get the start wide right. Real Madrid central defender Eder Militao is out injured.

Brazil starting lineup (4-3-3, left to right): 23-Ederson-GK — 6-Alex Sandro, 22-Lucas Verissimo, 3-Thiago Silva, 13-Emerson Royal — 8-Fred, 5-Fabinho, 17-Lucas Paqueta — 10-Neymar, 9-Gabriel Jesus, 19-Raphinha

Brazil subs: 1-Alisson-GK, 12-Weverton-GK, 16-Guilherme Arana, 4-Marquinhos, 2-Danilo, 15-Edenilson, 7-Gerson, 14-Douglas Luiz, 20-Antony, 11-Everton Ribeiro, 18-Vinicius Junior, 21-Gabriel Barbosa

(Not in squad: Arthur Cabral, Eder Militao)

Uruguay are pairing up Luis Suarez and Edinson Cavani at forward. The Celeste will be missing center backs Jose Maria Gimenez and Ronaldo Araujo along with Giorgian de Arrascaeta, but Rodrigo Betancur is back from a suspension for yellow card accumulation.

Uruguay starting lineup (4-4-2, left to right): 1-Fernando Muslera-GK — 17-Matias Vina, 3-Diego Godin, 19-Sebastian Coates, 8-Nahitan Nandez — 7-Nicolas De La Cruz, 15-Federico Valverde, 5-Matias Vecino, 6-Rodrigo Betancur — 9-Luis Suarez, 21-Edinson Cavani

Uruguay subs: 23-Sergio Rochet-GK, 12-Martin Campana-GK, 22-Martin Caceres, 2-Joaquin Piquerez, 13-Giovanni Gonzalez, 20-Facundo Torres, 14-Lucas Torreira, 11-Gaston Pereiro, 18-Darwin Nunez, 4-Fernando Gorriaran, 10-Augustin Alvarez Martinez, 16-Brian Rodriguez

How to watch Brazil vs. Uruguay

  • Date: Thursday, Oct. 14
  • Time: 8:30 p.m. ET
  • Streaming: fuboTV

Brazil vs. Uruguay and every World Cup qualifying match in South America can be streamed exclusively on fuboTV  in English and Spanish.

WATCH: South American World Cup qualifiers on fuboTV (stream live)

The matches are also available on a pay-per-view basis via cable and satellite TV providers. 

Brazil vs. Uruguay: Betting odds & prediction

Odds courtesy of DraftKings

Pick: Brazil -1 Asian Handicap (-115)

Although Uruguay had its chances against Argentina on Sunday, the 3-0 loss was an accurate reflection of the difference in talent between the two sides. It will be the same case in Manaus, and while the result may not turn out to be quite as lopsided, Brazil should at least be one goal better. Brazil also has the best team defense in the tournament — three goals allowed in 10 games — and won’t get scored on easily.

The Brazil -1 Asian Handicap may not be wildly adventurous, but neither is the play we'll see between these two teams. It’s decent protection if the Selecao have an off day in front of goal.

Prediction: Brazil 2, Uruguay 0

  • Moneyline: Brazil -210 / Draw +310 / Uruguay +750
  • Spread (Asian Handicap): Brazil -1 (-110) / Uruguay +1 (+100)
  • O/U 2.5 total goals: Over +130 / Under -160
  • Both teams to score: Yes +155 / No -205

Simon Borg

Simon Borg Photo

Simon Borg is a senior editor at The Sporting News who has covered football/soccer for over a decade. A supporter of Italian club Parma Calcio from his years growing up in Europe, he was previously a long-time member of Major League Soccer's digital media team, as a multimedia content producer, on-air personality, and Editor-in-Chief. Based in New York City, Borg is multilingual and has covered the domestic and global scene for TSN since 2021.