Dorival blames himself for Brazil's sluggish performances

Brazil coach Dorival Junior took responsibility for the 1-0 defeat to Paraguay on Tuesday and admitted that his side lacked "many things" to come out of the match on matchday eight of the South American qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup.
"We lacked a lot of things. I'm responsible for that and I don't want to single out any player," the 62-year-old coach told a post-match press conference at the Defensores del Chaco stadium in Asuncion.
He said that with fifth place in the standings and just 10 points from a possible 24, they must work and need "much more to be able to reach the superlative level" that is always demanded of the ‘Selecao’.
"It's not simple, it's not easy, but we have to intensify our work so that we can quickly find that path," he said.
On the match, he said they started well and were in control until international Diego Gomez converted a long-range effort that secured the three points for the Paraguayans at home.
"We lost a lot in that instant and we lost the first half without coming close to the opponent's goal," he explained.
"In 30 or 35 minutes you do little. We attacked very little, and we had very few approaches to Paraguay's goal. We paid a very high price for that," he acknowledged.
The ‘Albirroja’, in the second game under Argentine Gustavo Alfaro, won for the first time at home in this group after a 0-0 draw in Montevideo on Friday, and now, with nine points, are in seventh place, which gives them the right to play for a play-off spot.