Vinicius Junior bagged a brace, propelling Brazil to a near-certain berth in the Copa America quarterfinals with a 4-1 triumph over Paraguay on Friday.
The Real Madrid winger netted on either side of a Savinho goal, before Omar Alderete halved the deficit with a thunderbolt from distance.
Lucas Paqueta, who had fluffed a penalty earlier, made amends by converting another spot-kick just past the hour mark, solidifying Brazil’s first tournament win.
This result places the five-time World Cup champions second in Group D with four points, trailing Colombia by two and leading third-placed Costa Rica by three. The Selecao boasts a +3 goal difference, a comfortable six ahead of Costa Rica, with one group stage match left.
Paraguay is already toast, having dipped in both of its initial fixtures.
Paqueta missed a golden chance to put Brazil ahead just after the half-hour, skewing his penalty wide following a handball by Andres Cubas at Allegiant Stadium.
Nevertheless, he quickly redeemed himself with a sublime through ball to Vinicius, who dashed past his marker and slid the ball beneath keeper Rodrigo Morinigo.
Girona’s Savinho doubled the lead by slotting in the rebound after Morinigo parried Rodrygo’s attempt.
Brazil’s swagger grew visibly, and just before the halftime whistle, Vinicius pounced on Alderete’s botched clearance to poke in another.
Paraguay came out with renewed vigor in the second half, and Alderete redeemed himself with a stunning 25-yard strike into the bottom right corner.
Nonetheless, Brazil kept pressing and earned another penalty when Mathias Villasanti blocked Savinho’s effort with his arm.
Paqueta, once again stepping up, effortlessly chipped his shot into the bottom right.
Down to 10 men after Andres Cubas was shown a straight red card for a reckless challenge on Douglas Luiz nine minutes before full-time, Paraguay could not mount a comeback.
Brazil managed the game with ease from there, setting their campaign back on course after a scoreless tie with Costa Rica last Monday.
Earlier, Colombia clinched a quarterfinal spot with a 3-0 win over Costa Rica, stretching the Cafeteros’ winning streak to 10 games.
