Asuncion. Paraguay beat Brazil in a World Cup qualifier for the first time since June 2008, as they edged the five-time world champions 1-0. Diego Gomez was the main scorer in the win with a stunning first-half strike. Paraguay have moved up to seventh in the table with nine points and are only one point behind Brazil. The goal came in the 20th minute when Gomez received a cleared ball just outside the area, handled the ball and unleashed a powerful shot with the outside of his right foot which hit the post and went into the goal. Brazil tried to respond and Rodrigo was given a great chance early in the second half, but he hit the ball high above the target. Paraguay defender Ramon Sosa later cleared the ball in the last second to prevent Vinicius Junior from tapping in for the equaliser, minutes later goalkeeper Roberto Fernandez blocked the Brazilian attacker.
In the end, Paraguay’s defence held strong to register their third qualifying win in 17 matches. Earlier, Ecuador overcame Peru’s defence to collect three points in a 1-0 home win, moving them to fourth place in the table with 11 points, while Peru remain bottom with three points. Bolivia made history by winning their first World Cup qualifier away from home in 31 years with a 2-1 win over Chile in Santiago. Amid heavy rain in Maturin, Venezuela and Uruguay drew 0-0, leaving Venezuela to rue their missed chances. Venezuela extended their clean sheet streak in home qualifiers to four matches, while Uruguay kept clean sheets in five consecutive matches without conceding a goal. Uruguay slipped to third place with 15 points, while Venezuela are sixth with 10 points.