FELIX Torres’ second-half header earned Ecuador a draw against Brazil in an eventful World Cup qualifier on Thursday night which saw both teams have a player sent off.
Brazil, who have already qualified, went ahead through Casemiro’s close-range effort in the fifth minute but had their goalkeeper, the Liverpool star Alisson, saved twice from dismissal.
Ecuador keeper Alexander Dominguez was sent off for a reckless challenge after 15 minutes, before Brazil’s Emerson Royal was dismissed five minutes later.
The hosts had a goal disallowed but Torres’ late header rescued a point.
Ecuador are third in the 10-nation South American qualifying standings – the top four qualify automatically for the World Cup.
Brazil have already qualified for this year’s finals in Qatar, along with Argentina.
Thursday’s incident-packed game in Quito saw Alisson shown a red card on two occasions only for both to be rescinded by VAR.
Ecuador also had two penalty awards overturned by VAR – including one in second-half stoppage time.
In another contest in South America, Argentina’s Angel Di Maria stepped up in the absence of talismanic Lionel Messi to lift his team to a 2-1 win over Chile in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifier on Thursday night.
Di Maria weaved past Chile defenders before unleashing a wonderful strike to beat goalkeeper Claudio Bravo in World Cup qualifying match.
The first-half goal opened the scoring for Argentina, who went on to win 2-1 and remain second in the CONMEBOL table. Di Maria had been asked to step up with Messi left out of the squad due to his recent bout with COVID-19.
BBC Sport
