Montevideo: Philippe Coutinho shrugged off his transfer disappointment with a goal as Brazil beat Ecuador to guarantee top spot in South America’s 2018 World Cup qualifying race while Chile and Argentina stumbled once more.
Liverpool star Coutinho, who had seen his hopes of a dream move to Barcelona dashed earlier Thursday as the transfer window slammed shut with no agreement, produced a scintillating second half display in a 2-0 victory over Ecuador in Porto Alegre.
The 25-year-old has not played for Liverpool this season officially sidelined by a back problem. However Coutinho showed no sign of injury after coming on for Renato Augusto in the second half, enlivening the hosts after a goalless first 45 minutes before a restless home crowd.
New Barcelona signing Paulinho opened the scoring for Brazil, lashing home from close range in the 69th minute after Willian’s corner. Coutinho then fashioned Brazil’s second, playing Manchester City’s Gabriel Jesus into space behind the Ecuador back four with a lofted pass. Jesus wrongfooted the Ecuador defence with a sublime flick, and then headed into the path of Coutinho who finished emphatically.
The win was Brazil’s ninth consecutive qualifying victory and gives the five-time World Cup winners an 11-point cushion with three games remaining, meaning they cannot now be overhauled at the top of the table.
The scramble for automatic qualifying spots promises to go down to the wire, with only two points separating second-placed Colombia (25 points) and fifth-placed Argentina (23 points).
Paraguay also thrust themselves into contention with arguably the performance of the day Thursday, a 3-0 away win over Chile in Santiago. The hosts conceded an own goal through Arturo Vidal and then further strikes from Victor Caceres and Richard Ortiz sealed a deserved win for Paraguay.
Argentina meanwhile endured another frustrating outing after being held to a 0-0 draw by Uruguay in Montevideo.
The draw means Uruguay remain in third place in the standings on 24 points, one behind second-placed Colombia, who were held to a 0-0 draw against already-eliminated Venezuela in San Cristobal.
Agence France-Presse
