(Reuters) – Brazil enjoyed a thumping 4-0 win over Peru in a 2026 World Cup qualifier on Tuesday to build on the momentum from last week’s come-from-behind win in Chile but head coach Dorival Junior said his side remain very much a work in progress.
Winger Raphinha converted a penalty in each half to guide an improved Brazil to a home win which sees the five-times World Cup winners sitting fourth in South American qualifying with 16 points from 10 matches.
The top six qualify directly for the 2026 World Cup in North America.
Dorival’s side have been under pressure after failing to impress at the Copa America, suffering a second straight quarter-final exit from a major tournament after losing to Croatia on penalties at the Qatar World Cup 2022.
Prior to the win over Chile, Brazil had lost four of five qualifiers and Dorival said there was still a lot of work to do.
“We have to realise that this is a group in the making and that it needs adjustments,” he told reporters. “The team will still fluctuate. We’ll have better matches than this. But because of the attitude we had, we didn’t give our opponents a chance.
“We’ve got some tough games coming up and we need to be ready. I don’t delude myself with any situation, just as I didn’t despair when the disputes were rife.”
Brazil travel to Venezuela for their next World Cup qualifier on Nov. 14 and host third-placed Uruguay five days later.
(Reporting by Pearl Josephine Nazare in Bengaluru; Editing by Peter Rutherford)
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