West Ham United’s Lucas Paquetá came off the bench in the second half as Brazil were held to a 1-1 draw away at Venezuela in the late hours of Thursday night, in 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifying.
Both goals had already been scored by the time the 27-year-old was introduced to the action by manager Dorival Júnior in the 68th minute, with Raphinha’s free-kick opener just before the break having been cancelled out by a Telasco Segovia strike 38 seconds after the restart.
Five-time world champions Brazil dominated for long periods and squandered a great chance to seal all three points when Vinícius Júnior missed a penalty shortly after the hour, while Venezuela were reduced to ten men late on when Alexander González was given his marching orders for violent conduct.
The sharing of the spoils at the Estadio Monumental de Maturín leaves Brazil third in the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifying table, ahead of an enticing match-up at home to Uruguay in the early hours of Wednesday 20 November.
Elsewhere, Michail Antonio was absent through suspension, due to yellow card accumulation, as his Jamaica side were narrowly beaten 1-0 by the United States in the first leg of their CONCACAF Nations League quarter-final tie in Kingston.
An early goal for Ricardo Pepi proved enough to give the visitors victory before the second leg in St. Louis next week, while Demarai Gray missed a penalty for Jamaica and team-mate Mason Holgate was sent off four minutes from the end.
