Lucas Paqueta’s instinctive strike gave Brazil a 1-0 World Cup qualifying win over Colombia on Thursday (Nov 12) to book their place at Qatar 2022. The five-time world champions join the hosts and Europeans Germany and Denmark as early qualifiers for next year’s finals.
Brazil became the first South American nation to qualify for the 2022 World Cup with a 1-0 home win over Colombia.
Lucas Paqueta scored the only goal at Neo Quimica Arena in Sao Paulo for the five-time World Cup winners. The Lyon midfielder, 24, finished off a move involving Paris Saint-Germain pair Marquinhos and Neymar on 72 minutes.
Brazil still have six qualifiers to play, but have dropped just two points from their 12 games and are nine points clear of second-placed Argentina.
“This is the result of all the hard work we've been putting in,” Paqueta told Brazilian television network SporTV.
“Qualifying for the World Cup was our main objective and we achieved that today.”
Brazil's next qualifier is away to Argentina in San Juan on Tuesday (23:30 GMT).
