March 21, (THEWILL) – Vinicius Junior scored a decisive goal in the ninth minute of stoppage time, giving Brazil a 2-1 victory over Colombia in their South American World Cup qualifier on Friday.
The five-time world champions initially took the lead through a Raphinha penalty in the sixth minute, before Luis Diaz equalised with a well-executed strike four minutes before half-time.
Brazil now hold second place in the 10-team CONMEBOL qualifying group, trailing Argentina by four points.
The early penalty resulted from Daniel Munoz fouling Vinicius, with Raphinha confidently converting from the spot.
Colombia’s equaliser came when James Rodriguez found Liverpool’s Diaz, who moved inside and finished into the far corner.
The match saw Liverpool goalkeeper Alisson Becker exit in the 78th minute with an apparent concussion following a collision with Colombia’s Davinson Sanchez.
While Colombia controlled much of the attacking play in the second half, they ultimately fell to Vinicius’ powerful late shot, which took a slight deflection off a defender before finding the net.
Brazil will next face Argentina on Tuesday in a crucial qualifier between the region’s two footballing giants.
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
