Neymar helped Brazil win in the 90th minute
* Goal: Marquinhos 90'
At the last official minute, Gabriel Martinelli took a corner kick on the left wing for Brazil. Neymar took a free kick and hung the ball into the penalty area, allowing Marquinhos to head in and score the decisive goal.
Before Brazil scored, the two teams struggled. The five-time World Cup champions dominated, but were unlucky in front of Peru's goal. In the 16th minute, the referee blew for offside against Richarlison and did not recognize the goal for Brazil, after the striker passed to Raphinha to shoot past goalkeeper Pedro Gallese.
At minute 35, the referee continued to blow for offside and disallowed Richarlison's goal after the striker headed into the left corner. It took the referee and VAR team six minutes to determine that the Tottenham player was standing a few centimeters below the home defender.
Peru also had some attacks, but could not threaten goalkeeper Ederson. The home team shot three times and not once towards the goal.
In the second half, the match became tense with many collisions. From minutes 48 to 61, the referee had to issue two yellow cards for Peru and one yellow card for Brazil. In the lower line, goalkeeper Gallese continued to play an effective barrier role. After blocking Neymar's strong shot at the end of the first half, in the 71st minute, the goalkeeper of Orlando City Club (USA) continued to shine by pushing Raphinha's shot away.
After an ineffective attack period, coach Fernando Diniz replaced four Brazilian players. Martinelli, who replaced Raphinha in the 85th minute, only needed five minutes to create a turning point in the match when he scored a corner kick on the left wing.
The header against Peru was Marquinhos' seventh goal in 79 matches for Brazil. Neymar set a record of 58 assists for the team, in addition to a record of 79 goals. In these two records, the legendary Pele is ranked right behind Neymar.
A narrow victory over Peru helped Brazil regain the leading position in the 2026 World Cup qualifying round in South America, just a few hours after being occupied by Argentina. Brazil and Argentina both have six points after two matches, but Neymar and his teammates are ranked higher thanks to better difference. Meanwhile, Peru ranked seventh with one point. Colombia ranked third with four points, while Uruguay and Ecuador ranked fourth and fifth with the same three points. The South American qualifier will return with two matches in October.
