Brazil 1-0 Colombia: 5 talking points as Lucas Paqueta strike confirms Selecao tickets to Qatar | 2022 FIFA World Cup Qualifiers

A tense encounter between Brazil and Colombia ended with a Brazil victory.

Brazil overcame a petulent Colombia side 1-0 in Sao Paulo in the 2022 FIFA World Cup qualifiers to officially confirm their place in the Qatar showpiece.

Lucas Paqueta scored the only goal of the game in the 72nd minute from a Neymar assist, as Los Cafeteros drew another blank. It was a highly physical affair once again, with fouls and nasty challenges flying in from both ends, especially from the visitors.

The physicality severely affected the rhythm of the match but Brazil's superior quality eventually shone through.

🇧🇷 Brazil booking their ticket to Qatar 2022 headlined matchday 13 in @CONMEBOL's latest #WorldCup qualifiers 🌎

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🇧🇷 Brazil 1-0 Colombia 🇨🇴
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The victory puts the Selecao nine points clear at the top of the table for now, although Argentina can cut the gap to six again by beating Uruguay in their match. Meanwhile, Colombia have dropped down to fifth place.

Here are the major talking points from the match:

#5 Another ugly clash filled with cynical fouls

Brazil and Colombia both committed 21 fouls each.

When Brazil and Colombia met last month, the game was marred by rash challenges, leading to 28 fouls being committed across both sides. But if you thought that was bad, their latest encounter put the earlier one to shame.

The sides took their ugliness to a whole new level today, committing 42 fouls in total (21 each) and accounting for seven yellow cards! The game was poor in terms of quality because of the constant disruptions by both sides.

GOL! Brazil 1-0 Colombia

Had been coming. Ospina gets a hand to it but Paqueta's effort after Neymar slips him through finds a way through.

Very chippy though with both teams hacking at each other for fun. 21 fouls & 4 yellows. Yet Neymar not among bookings for this: https://t.co/JJBVP9LfXp

Colombia were the chief culprits again, using their traditional roughhousing techniques to deal with the likes of Neymar, Paqueta and Raphinha. However, Casemiro and Fred were among the Canaries guilty of some foul play too.

#4 Colombia's attacking woes continue

Colombia haven't scored in their last four consecutive World Cup qualifiers.

Last month, Colombia drew thrice in succession, all 0-0, as they desperately lacked attacking firepower. James Rodriguez's return provided them with a much-needed boost, but the former Real Madrid star was only fit enough to start on the bench against Brazil.

With no playmaker on the field to inspire creativity, the pressure was more on wide players like Juan Cuadrado to create chances. However, the Selecao ran a taut ship at the back, negating their influence. Resultantly, striker Duvan Zapata was left devoid of service, while the introduction of Rodriguez and Luis Muriel in the second-half made little difference.

Colombia are now goalless in slightly over 360 minutes of action, a problem they need to solve at the earliest.