Brazil, the reigning Olympic champions, faced a major setback in their quest to secure a spot at the upcoming Paris Games after their under-23 team suffered a surprising 1-0 defeat to Paraguay in the final four of the South American qualifying tournament on Monday.
The tournament features four teams, namely Brazil, Paraguay, Argentina, and Venezuela, who are competing in a round-robin format to secure the two qualifying berths available for the 2024 Games in Paris.
Paraguay, who last participated in the Olympics in 2004, secured an unexpected victory over Brazil after Fabrizio Peralta scored a header in the dying seconds of the first half.
Brazil’s young prodigy, Endrick, who is set to join Real Madrid later this year, missed a penalty in the 29th minute, which could have put the 2020 Tokyo Games gold medalists in the lead.
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In another qualifying match, a last-minute penalty from substitute Kevin Kelsy helped Venezuela secure a 2-2 draw against Argentina.
Javier Mascherano’s side finished the game with only nine players after Valentin Barco and Gonzalo Lujan received red cards.
Bryant Ortega of Venezuela also received a red card during the match.
Brazil’s next fixture is against Venezuela, who defeated them 3-1 in the preliminary stage earlier this month.
Paraguay’s next game is against Argentina.
The qualifying tournament is being held in Caracas, and it will conclude on February 11th.
