Vinicius Junior endured one other irritating night time for Brazil as his missed penalty allowed Venezuela to earn a shock 1-1 draw of their 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifier.
The Selecao took the lead via in-form Barcelona ahead Raphinha simply earlier than the half-time interval however had been instantly pegged again by Venezuela substitute Telasco Segovia.
Brazil had gained their earlier two World Cup qualifiers in opposition to Chile and Peru after claiming simply two victories from their first six matches and had been handed a golden alternative to choose up one other three factors when Vinicius was felled by the onrushing Rafael Romo.
The referee initially awarded Brazil a free-kick simply outdoors the penalty space earlier than replays conclusively confirmed that contact had been made with Vinicius contained in the field.
However Vinicius, who was in sensational kind on the weekend as an injury-ravaged Actual Madrid beat Osasuna 4-0 in La Liga, noticed his weak penalty saved by Romo, with the 24-year-old additionally skewing the rebound vast of the put up.
Vinicius had hit the put up earlier on within the contest however was unable to assist Brazil discover a winner as his poor kind on the worldwide stage continued. The runner-up within the Ballon d’Or 2024 has solely scored 5 objectives in 36 appearances for the nationwide staff – a stark distinction to his spectacular objective document for Actual Madrid.
There was controversy late on within the sport when Brazil, who had been totally on high and pushing to discover a winner, had been compelled to cease of their tracks after the sprinkler system on the Estadio Monumental de Maturin stadium was activated.
Brazil’s gamers and training employees had been incensed by the interruption, which halted their momentum and allowed Venezuela to cling on for a beneficial level. The end result leaves Brazil third within the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifying desk, two factors behind Colombia and 5 behind Argentina, who slipped to a shock 2-1 defeat to Paraguay.