Brazil Becomes the First South American Country to Qualify for the Qatar World Cup

Brazil has become the first South American country to qualify for the FIFA World Cup, five rounds before the end of the South American qualifiers, after winning 1-0 against its guest Colombia. With a goal from Lucas Paquetá and an assist from its star Neymar just before the thirty-minute mark, the five-time world champions maintained their unique record of participating in every World Cup since its inception in 1930. The "Seleção" continued to collect points in a perfect qualifying campaign, raising its total to 34 points after winning 11 out of 12 matches. The only blemish in their remarkable qualifying journey was a goalless draw away to Colombia last month. Paquetá, the 24-year-old player from French club Lyon, said after scoring the winning goal, "I believe the goal came as a result of the work after building from the back. We must continue to focus on every match." Four teams from the unified South American group qualify directly for the World Cup. The gap between Brazil and Chile, Colombia, and Uruguay is now 18 points with five rounds remaining, noting that Brazil has played one match less after their game against host Argentina was suspended.