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‘Neymar is the bow and arrow’
Neymar scored a hattrick as Brazil thumped Peru 4-2 in a World Cup qualifier on Tuesday. The treble took the 28-year-old to 64 goals for Brazil, past Ronaldo and 13 shy of Pele’s all-time record. (Bottom) Meanwhile, Lionel Messi was instrumental as Argentina beat Bolivia 2-1 in La Paz, the Albiceleste’s first win away to Bolivia in 15 years, with goals coming from Lautaro Martinez and Joaquin Correa.
PHOTO: REUTERS/TWITTER
Argentina conquer La Paz; Uruguay beaten
Agencies
Brazil coach Tite hailed Neymar and said the Brazil star was only getting better after the forward moved past Ronaldo on the nation’s goalscoring list.
Neymar scored a hattrick as Brazil recorded a hard-fought 4-2 win over Peru in World Cup qualifying on Tuesday. With 64 international goals, he moved past Ronaldo (62), with only Pele (77) having scored more times for Brazil than the 28-year-old.
Tite was full of praise for Neymar, who netted two penalties in the win over a 10-man Peru.
“Each historic moments of the selection, each generation, it has its own values,” the Brazil coach told a news conference, via Globo. “It has Ronaldo, extraordinary phenomenon. Rivaldo, Romario, Bebeto, each one in his own moment. It is unfair to make comparisons.
“What I can say is that Neymar has this unpredictability. He is a bow and arrow. He is the player for the assist and the finish too, better and better and with an increasing degree of maturity.”
Brazil trailed twice against Peru as Andre Carrillo and Renato Tapia scored, only for their efforts to be cancelled out by Neymar and Richarlison respectively.
Neymar scored another spot-kick in the 83rd minute before sealing the win, and completing his hattrick, in additional time to give Tite’s men a second win in as many qualifiers.
Argentina break
Bolivia jinx
A late goal from Joaquin Correa helped Argentina come from behind to beat Bolivia 2-1 on Tuesday and maintain their 100 percent record in the South American World Cup qualifiers.
Bolivia took the lead after 24 minutes when captain Marcelo Martins rose unmarked to head home a cross from the left.
However, Argentina, who beat visitors Ecuador 1-0 in their opener last week, equalised seconds before halftime when a clearance from defender Jose Maria Carrasco hit Lautaro Martinez just yards from goal and flew into the net.
Correa then got Argentina’s winner with a sweet left-foot strike 11 minutes from the final whistle as Bolivia suffered another defeat following their 5-0 thrashing away to Brazil last week.
The result was Argentina’s ninth game unbeaten under coach Lionel Scaloni and their first win in Bolivia since 2005.
It came in spite of their evident troubles with the thin air, with the game being played at high altitude in La Paz, and some of their players took gulps of oxygen at the side of the pitch during a busy second half.
Martinez could have had a hattrick but scooped one chance over the bar and had another well saved by the Bolivian keeper.
“We knew what this game meant to us because of its history,” the Inter Milan striker said. “We’re not going to deny that it’s difficult to play here. I think this team showed lots of heart and lots of brains. We’re very happy.”
Lionel Messi was another outstanding performer for the visitors, although the Barcelona forward played a deeper role than usual and was more of a creator than taker of chances.
Uruguay hammered, Falcao salvages draw
In Ecuador, the home side recovered from that opening day loss to Argentina to hammer Uruguay 4-2.
Luis Suarez got two goals back for Uruguay in the dying minutes, both of them from the spot, to put a more respective sheen on the scoreline.
Meanwhile, Radamel Falcao scored an injury time equaliser as Colombia salvaged a point in a 2-2 draw in Chile.
Gaston Gimenez scored a late winner before goalkeeper Anthony Silva saved a penalty from Yangel Herrera as Paraguay won 1-0 in Venezuela.
The top four sides in the 10-team South American group qualify directly for Qatar 2022 and the fifth-placed side goes into an inter-regional playoff.