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SAO PAULO (Reuters) – Roberto Firmino scored twice and Marquinhos and Philippe Coutinho also scored goals in Brazil’s 5-0 win over Bolivia in their first World Cup qualifying match in Sao Paulo on Friday.
Brazil had never lost a World Cup qualifying match at home, a 54-match streak leading up to Friday’s game, and never seemed to be in danger of losing that record.
Marquinhos put the hosts 1-0 up with a header in the 16th minute before Firmino scored on the 18th and 49th, both times at the end of low crosses to the penalty area.
Brazil was rampant on the flanks and the Bolivian defense had little response to the centers of Renan Lodi and Everton and the dangerous indications of the midfield from Neymar, who was unlucky enough not to put his name on the score sheet.
The fourth came in the 66th minute, when a touch from Rodrygo deflected defender José María Carrasco’s shoulder and Philippe Coutinho completed the win with a header seven minutes later.
Bolivia, which last qualified for the World Cup final in 1994, started with an inexperienced team in torrential rain at Corinthians’ Neo Química Stadium and had only one shot on goal compared to Brazil’s 10. .
The top four teams from the 10-team South American group qualify directly for Qatar 2022 and the fifth-placed enters an inter-regional tiebreaker.
Brazil now travel to Lima to face Peru on Tuesday, while Bolivia is at home the same day to Argentina, which opened their campaign with a 1-0 win over Ecuador on Thursday.
(Reporting by Andrew Downie in London; Editing by Clarence Fernandez and Richard Pullin)
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