Newcastle United midfielder Bruno Guimaraes was one of the few positive sparks for Brazil as they fell to a 1-0 defeat against rivals Argentina.
Prior to kick off, the game was already surrounded by conflict with fans fighting before the match while Bruno’s Newcastle teammate Joelinton was given a red card in the final moments to cap off a disappointing night.
Despite the overall performance, Bruno was one of the few players who looked most likely to create something and was ultimately given a rating of seven out of ten by Terra, but just a 4.5 by Globo.
Brazil suffer nightmare defeat
Brazil have now suffered three consecutive defeats – all of which Bruno has started – with losses coming against Argentina, Colombia and Uruguay.
Despite being sixth in the table, there won’t be a great deal of panic given that it is the top six who will automatically qualify for the World Cup, but there are certainly worrying signs for head coach Fernando Diniz.
Bruno’s performance is one positive that he can take away from this game as the Newcastle man ‘set the pace’ and produced some ‘great passes’ in the second half for Brazil, as reported by Terra.
“Brazil’s main midfielder started the match slowly, but little by little he entered the game and set the pace. Alongside André, Bruno managed to connect the midfield well with the attack and had great passes for Raphinha. 7/10.”
While Globo handed out a lower rating, they too were impressed by the £40m signing’s ‘beautiful’ build-up play, it was just his costly mistakes that limited his score.
“He started well, with a lot of willingness to mark and good passes. In the second half, he made a beautiful game changer for Raphinha and a dangerous cross for Rodrygo.
“However, it was his incorrect throw that led to the corner kick that led to Argentina’s goal. Minutes later, he tried another launch and also made a mistake. 4.5/10.”
Bruno now returns to Newcastle
Bruno can now return to Newcastle with his head held high, although knowing the 26-year-old’s passion and emotion for Brazil, he’ll be too disappointed to have lost against Argentina to reflect positively on his performance.
The focus point for Eddie Howe will be that neither Bruno or Joelinton picked up a knock in the two games in South America and will not be added to the long list of injuries at Newcastle.
That said, Bruno has played a combined total of 168 minutes in Brazil’s two games on Friday and Wednesday, so it will be a big ask for him to play through Newcastle’s next set of fixtures which are looking very tough.
The Magpies will host Chelsea on Saturday before travelling to Paris for the Champions League game vs PSG on Tuesday and then returning to St James’ Park for their Premier League clash against Manchester United the following Saturday.
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