Alex Telles enters the game and replaces Renan Lodi.
Its a straight swap at left-back as Telles replaces Lodi.
90' +5
Lodi is being checked for a head injury after he collided with Silva during the Chelsea centre-back’s clearing header following the corner. Play is stopped and a substitution late-on looks likely.
90' +4
The ensuing corner is met by Silva, who unwittingly manages to put his defensive header off Del Pino and out for a goal-kick.
90' +2
Otero attempts to get a long-range free-kick on-target, whacking it hard towards goal. It looks a good effort, but a deflection off the wall puts it out for a corner.
90'
The fourth official indicates there will be six minutes added on.
88'
With under five minutes remaining, it doesn’t look likely that Venezuela will be able to get themselves back in the match. They’ve been labouring for an hour and a half, but it appears to be for nought as Brazil’s quality proved to be just too much in the end.
86'
Brazil’s inswinging corner is met eagerly by Osorio, whose powerful clearing header puts it well outside the danger area.
81'
T. Rincón gets yellow.
Rincon pulls Pedro back which draws a booking from the referee.
79'
J. Savarino enters the game and replaces D. Machís.
A change for Venezuela sees the recently booked Machis depart for Savarino.
Minute
Description
76'
Pedro enters the game and replaces Richarlison.
D. Machís gets yellow.
Everton enters the game and replaces Gabriel Jesus.
Machis goes down in Brazil’s half after a lengthy run, but the referee sees the contact as minimal and allows play to continue. The furious winger makes his feelings very clear to the match official and is booked for dissent.
Flamengo's Pedro is given his international debut for Brazil, replacing Richarlison with just under 15 minutes remaining.
Jesus is taken off by Tite, with Everton his replacement.
73'
Richarlison is brought down by Gonzalez, giving Brazil a free-kick which they opt to take quickly.
71'
Venezuela no longer have the luxury of being able to sit back and defend a point as they’ll be forced to come forward in search of an equaliser. That won’t be possible however until they win the ball back; a task that is becoming increasingly difficult.
69'
As Tite calls for calm from the touchline after seeing his side go up a goal, Allan misplaces a pass and gives Venezuela a throw-in.
67'
Roberto Firmino has scored a goal for Brazil!
BRAZIL TAKE THE LEAD! A cross from Everton Ribeiro on the right is met by a poor defensive header from Osorio, allowing Roberto Firmino to tuck his awkward volley past Farinez from in-close! 1-0!
65'
A. González enters the game and replaces R. Rosales.
R. Otero enters the game and replaces Y. Soteldo.
The injury will force the right-back off, as Rosales is replaced by Gonzalez.
Venezuela make two changes at once as Soteldo is also taken off, with Otero coming on in his place.
63'
Play is stopped for Rosales, who is down on one knee in some pain. He looks unable to continue, which would mean Venezuela have been forced to withdraw both starting full-backs.
61'
Richarlison sends a desperate cross into the penalty area which is easily repelled by Angel and put out for a throw, much to the disappointment of Tite.
59'
Peseiro should be very pleased with his side’s performance after an hour. It was never likely that Venezuela would dominate play, but they’ve responded to what Brazil have thrown at them very well. Their shape has been maintained all night and are working determinedly for what would be an unexpected point.
56'
Soteldo finds some room just inside the penalty area, but his cross is curled right into the outstretched arms of Ederson.
55'
It appears the referee was being told about a potential handball inside Venezuela’s penalty area, which would give Brazil a penalty. After a replay or two, the replays appear to be inconclusive and the match will be restarted with a goal-kick.
52'
Play is stopped because of a conversation between the referee and the VAR. It’s unsure what incident is being discussed, but both sets of players are getting increasingly frustrated.
50'
Lodi again involved in good attacking play down the left as his near-post cross finds Jesus, who is unable to direct it towards Farinez. Again the Manchester City striker prods it towards his team-mate Richarlison, who is unable to get anything on it as the goalkeeper finally claims.
48'
As expected, Tite has wasted no time making attacking changes as his side look to take the lead. Paqueta is not an orthodox central midfielder, but will no doubt give his side a burst of pace and creativity; something desperately missed in the first half.
46'
Lucas Paquetá enters the game and replaces Douglas Luiz.
Tite makes a substitution at half-time. Douglas Luiz was booked in the first half and will not be returning to the pitch. Paqueta is his replacement.
Venezuela get the match restarted from the kick-off!
45' +3
HALF-TIME: BRAZIL 0-0 VENEZUELA.
45' +2
Danilo takes a speculative effort from some distance, but the full-back is unable to get any height on the shot as Farinez stoops low and saves easily.
45'
The referee indicates three minutes will be added to the first half for stoppages.
39'
Soteldo gives Venezuela their first real chance of the match, slaloming into the Brazil penalty area past Danilo and slipping a pass across the six-yard box for a team-mate, which is but behind at the last moment by Marquinhos.
37'
Jesus goes over in the penalty area during an attempt to get under a long, lifted pass, but the referee sees nothing wrong with the defending and Farinez is able to catch the ball uncontested.
35'
Douglas Luiz gets his signals crossed, missing the chance to send it long for Jesus’ run. Having already motioned to pass, the midfielder instead turns to play it down the left flank for Lodi - but sends it out for a throw-in.
31'
Rosales takes the free-kick from deep in midfield towards the edge of the 18, where Silva manages to nod it away. Rincon volleys the second-effort but sends it wildly over.
30'
Douglas Luiz gets yellow.
Brazil are shown their first yellow card of the match - awarded to Douglas Luiz for using excessive force during an aerial duel right in front of the referee.
28'
Allan finds Firmino outside the area, who takes a touch before lashing a shot towards goal - forcing Farinez to dive from side to side in order to palm the ball out for a corner.
26'
Brazil come forward once again with 10 men inside the opposition’s half, but Everton Ribeiro and Douglas Luiz are facing some difficulty breaking down the low block.
24'
Everton Ribeiro whips a corner to the edge of the six-yard box, but the organised Venezuela defence once again repels a set-piece successfully. They’ve done almost nothing going forward, but the visitors should be given credit for their resilience and discipline thus far.
22'
Danilo takes the free-kick to the edge of the penalty area where it’s met with a deft flick to put it through traffic. The ball wriggles through to Firmino on the other side, but it prompts the linesman to raise his flag - giving Venezuela a free-kick to clear their lines.
20'
C. Cásseres gets yellow.
Casseres is shown the first yellow card of the match for a sliding challenge on Allan inside Venezuela’s half.
18'
L. Mago enters the game and replaces R. Feltscher.
Confirmation of the enforced change as Feltscher is brought off after 18 minutes for Del Pino.
16'
Feltscher is in a bit of bother as he has a discussion with Venezuela’s medical staff. It seems to be a problem with his ankle as he’s helped off by two staff members. A change looks imminent for the visitors.
14'
Everton Ribeiro uses his left to curl in a free-kick from the right after Richarlison was clumsily brought down, but the delivery to the far post prevents his team-mate from putting a shot on target.
12'
Douglas Luiz looks to set Jesus away down the right, but the long-range pass is miscued and rolls out for a Farinez goal-kick.
10'
A set-piece routine comes to nothing for Venezuela, who take their free-kick on the right short. Soteldo was the intended target inside the penalty area, but a heavy touch prevents anything from happening for the visitors.
8'
RICHARLISON SCORES BUT HE’S OFFSIDE! Marquinhos sprays a pass forward to Lodi, whose mishit shot is palmed by Farinez into the path of the Everton striker, who puts it past the goalkeeper - but the left-back was unable to hold his run in the build-up. It remains 0-0.
6'
A long, early cross is hung up to Rondon on the edge of the penalty area, but Marquinhos comes flying through to dispossess the physical striker.
4'
Silva attacks a corner sent in by Everton Ribeiro, but his powerful effort is misdirected and sent wide.
3'
Venezuela are looking to slow the play early, taking as long as possible with every throw-in. A point in Brazil for the visitors would be a tremendous result, though thinking about that this early in the proceedings could be risky.
1'
Brazil get the match underway from the kick-off!
Good evening and welcome to our LIVE commentary of the CONMEBOL World Cup 2022 qualifier between Brazil and Venezuela!
Brazil return to CONMEBOL qualification in a rich vein of form, sitting just one point behind table-toppers Argentina, who have played a match more. With 12 goals scored in their last three fixtures, the Selecao attack has been unstoppable of late - but Neymar’s late withdrawal from the squad due to injury will leave Tite without Brazil’s second highest all-time goalscorer.
Venezuela travel to Sao Paulo in search of their first goal in qualifying, as Jose Peseiro’s side sit one spot ahead of last-place Ecuador having played a match less. A 3-0 loss to Colombia and a 1-0 defeat at home to Paraguay have made for a rocky start, and it doesn’t get easier as the Vinotinto have only beaten Brazil once in 13 attempts - a 2-0 win in a friendly in 2008.
VENEZUELA SUBS: Alain Baroja, Joel Graterol, Jhon Chancellor, Luis Del Pino, Alexander Gonzalez, Bernaldo Manzano, Juanpi, Cristian Rivas, Jhon Murillo, Fernando Aristeguieta, Romulo Otero, Jefferson Savarino.
VENEZUELA XI (4-2-3-1): Wuilker Farinez; Roberto Rosales, Yordan Osorio, Wilker Angel, Rolf Feltscher; Yeferson Soteldo, Tomas Rincon; Darwin Machis, Christian Casseres, Junior Moreno; Salomon Rondon.
BRAZIL SUBS: Alisson, Weverton, Felipe, Diego Carlos, Alex Telles, Arthur, Bruno Guimaraes, Lucas Paqueta, Vinicius Junior, Everton, Pedro.
BRAZIL XI (4-3-3): Ederson; Danilo, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Renan Lodi; Douglas Luiz, Allan, Everton Ribeiro; Gabriel Jesus, Roberto Firmino, Richarlison.
With 15 minutes to go before kick-off, let’s look at the team news, starting with the hosts!
Brazil’s midfield weren’t the most creative in the first half, with Douglas Luiz miscuing a number of passes through the lines. If the Venezuelan defence is to be broken down, perhaps Tite will need to look for creativity from the bench. With Arthur and Paqueta available, as well as Vinicius from the bench to challenge tired legs, the quality at Tite’s disposal is undoubtable. For Venezuela, they will no doubt look to dig in and protect the draw at all costs, with the experience of Chancellor and Murillo options in the second half.
That concludes our commentary of the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier between Brazil and Venezuela! We hope you enjoyed it!
Brazil face a difficult test in four days’ time when they travel to face Uruguay. Venezuela will host Chile on the same night in Caracas.
Commentary
More…