ECUADOR – BRAZIL 1-1:
Ecuador and Brazil met late Thursday night to compete in the South American World Cup qualifiers, and it was quite a match we were served.
Both Ecuador’s Alexander Domínguez and Brazil’s Emerson Royal were sent off. Alisson also saw the red card on two (!) Occasions, but both times referee Wilmar Roldán chose to change again after checking with VAR.
The final decision came in overtime in the second half after Roldán had first given Alisson the red card and sentenced to Ecuador.
– It is completely incredible. That it is possible to get so much drama, so many situations in two hours, said a more shocked Viasport commentator Petter Veland.
In the end, it ended 1-1 after goals from Casemiro and Felix Torres.
Early scoring
Ecuador captain Enner Valencia was given a giant opportunity to send the home team in the lead before two minutes had passed. A precisely hit dead ball found the striker, who from two to three meters headed the ball just to the side for goal.
Instead, it was the captain of the opposite team, Real Madrid star Casemiro, who sent Brazil in the lead a few minutes later. The midfielder got an easy job poking in the score from half a meter after a corner.
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Then the drama started in earnest.
The cards hailed
The quarter into the match, Ecuador’s goalkeeper Dominguez saw the red card of referee Wilmar Roldán after planting the knobs in Matheus Cunha’s throat.
Then it was Tottenham and Brazil defender Emerson Royal’s turn to receive his second yellow card of the evening – and thus become the second man to be sent off – after being too late in a duel.
If that was not enough, Alisson Becker also received the red card 25 minutes into the match, which after a several minutes VAR check was turned into yellow. The Liverpool goalkeeper hit Valencia in the face with a high kick, after first clearing the ball away.
– It is the sickest I have seen, Veland exclaimed when the referee first picked up the red card.
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Alisson, however, was allowed to continue, and with ten against ten, it was Brazil who went into the break at the position 1-0.
– It has been a spectacular round of football, but not necessarily for the right reasons, Veland said after a half-played match.
Draw after more VAR drama
Ten minutes after the break, Pervis Estupiñán thought he had given Ecuador a penalty, after he went to the ground in a duel with Raphinha, and referee Roldán pointed to the chalk mark.
After a check with VAR, however, he chose to redo and let the game go on.
The quarter before the end, however, it set for Ecuador. Felix Torres hit the highest on a corner kick and stabbed in 1-1.
In overtime, Alisson was at the center of the event again when he boxed both the ball and Ayrton Preciado in the face, and Roldan pointed to the penalty mark. The Brazilian was first shown his second yellow card, before the referee went to the VAR screen and reversed both the penalty and the card.
Alisson had to incredibly finish the match and it ended in a tie with Ecuador and Brazil.
Brazil leads the South American World Cup qualifiers and is already ready for the World Cup in Qatar 2022. Ecuador is in 3rd place. The top four go directly to the World Cup, while number five must go to the playoffs.
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