Football: Neymar and a messy Brazil held in check by Venezuela

Lacking inspiration, Brazil was surprised at home by Venezuela, who snatched an unexpected draw (1-1) on Thursday in Cuiaba, with Neymar a decisive passer, but not a success.

The Seleçao, however, thought they had done the hard part by opening the score shortly after the break on a corner from “Ney” headed by Gabriel Magalhaes (50th).

But Eduard Bello caused the Seleçao to lose their first points in the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup by equalizing with a superb acrobatic volley at the end of the match (85th).

Enough to delight the Argentinian world champions, who alone took the lead in the ranking by winning against Paraguay (1-0) in Buenos Aires.

Brazil played for the first time on Thursday in the Arena Pantanal in Cuiaba, a stadium built especially for the 2014 World Cup.

The public in this city in the Amazonian state of Mato Grosso was delighted at the idea of ​​seeing Neymar up close, but also Vinicius Junior, who had been out of the first two matches due to injury under new coach Fernando Diniz.

However, the two Brazilian stars performed poorly and sometimes had a tendency to step on each other's toes on the left side.

Neymar played at the Arena Pantanal with the letter "M" drawn on his side-shaven head, a tribute to his daughter Mavie, who was born last week.

It was finally to Gabriel Magalhaes that he gave the gift of an assist, a well-hit corner which allowed the Arsenal defender to score his first goal in the colors of Brazil with a helmet strike.

“Ney” tried to put on a show from the start, with a shot from the sombrero and a small bridge over a defender (12th).

But faced with a very compact Venezuelan defense, the former Parisian had to resort to long shots (3rd, 13th), just like Rodrygo (19th) or Casemiro (38th).

The Seleçao was sharper after returning from the locker room, with two big chances for Neymar (49th, 52nd).

After Gabriel Magalhaes' goal, Brazil slowed down and were punished by Bello, an unlikely hero who equalized five minutes after coming on, beating Marquinhos to place a magnificent acrobatic rebound.

The five-time world champions will have to react on Tuesday, during the clash against Uruguay, at the Centenario stadium in Montevideo.