Brazil vs. Peru

Arena Mané Garrincha, Brasília, October 15, 2024

Kickoff: 8:45 PM EDT / 9:45 PM BRT / 12:45 AM GMT

US Streaming: ViX

Likely Starting Lineup: Ederson; Vanderson, Marquinhos, Gabriel Magalhães, Abner; Bruno Guimarães, Gerson, Rodrygo; Raphinha, Savinho, Igor Jesus.

On The Bench: Bento, Weverton; Danilo, Lucas Beraldo, Fabrício Bruno, Alex Telles; André, Andreas Pereira, Matheus Pereira (replaces Lucas Paquetá, suspended); Endrick, Gabriel Martinelli (might be injured), Luiz Henrique

I don’t have much time for a preview tonight, so just some quick hits:

  • Lucas Paquetá’s replacement Matheus Pereira is the same Matheus Pereira who once notched two goals and two assists in one game against Chelsea. Since then, however, he’s had a passage through the middle east and returned to Brazil with Cruzeiro.
  • I didn’t watch the game on Thursday, but it sounded like there weren’t any real signs of improvement despite the win. Dorival seems to be going with the one thing that did kind of work—ditching the starting midfield pair of Paquetá and André for Bruno Guimarães and Gerson at halftime—from the start for this game. I can’t help but feel like all this chopping and changing is him just throwing shit at the wall, panicking when it doesn’t work, and trying something wildly different.
  • At least Vanderson is finally replacing Danilo, who seems to be well past his sell-by date. Danilo Will Come Good Island has sunk so far below the waves that passing ships no longer even need to fear running aground on its remains.
  • Peru have been pretty rotten in this World Cup qualifying cycle. They scored just one goal in the six games played in 2023, and after failing to score at the Copa América they have added a whopping two goals more in the three qualifiers they’ve played thus far in 2024. However, one of those goals gave them their first win of the whole cycle on Thursday, and against Uruguay! (Maybe that’s because the players are all sick of Marcelo Bielsa.)
  • Would anyone be surprised if Brazil laid another egg in a winnable game? I’m gonna predict a 1-1 draw for this one.