Richarlison of Brazil controls the ball during a match between Brazil and Ecuador as part of South American Qualifiers for Qatar 2022 at Beira-Rio Stadium on June 04, 2021 in Porto Alegre, Brazil.
Everton forward Richarlison scored as Brazil beat Ecuador 2-0 to stay top of the South American qualifying group for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Paris St-Germain's Neymar got the second with a retaken penalty following a foul on Manchester City forward Gabriel Jesus.
The result means Brazil have won all five of their World Cup qualifiers.
They top the 10-team South America group with 15 points from five games, four ahead of second-placed Argentina.
Ecuador are third with nine points after winning three of their previous four qualifiers, and Brazil struggled to break them down, despite being the better side for much of the match.
Richarlison got the breakthrough 20 minutes into the second half when goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez could not stop his angled near-post shot.
And with only minutes remaining, Neymar added a penalty after his first attempt was saved. He was allowed to retake the kick after the referee spotted players encroaching into the penalty area.
The spot-kick had been awarded after referee Alexis Herrera initially gave a free-kick against Jesus following contact between him and Angelo Preciado in the Ecuador area.
But after a four-minute VAR review, the official changed his mind and awarded a penalty.
Richarlison goes straight towards Tite after his goal ❤️
— 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝘀𝗶𝗹 𝗙𝗼𝗼𝘁𝗯𝗮𝗹𝗹 🇧🇷 (@BrasilEdition) June 5, 2021
You can say what you want about Tite, but the players are fully behind him. There is a reason why Dani Alves called him the best “man manager” he ever had.
pic.twitter.com/WMRA5DOtgg
Brazil's next game is against Paraguay in Asuncion on 8 June, while Ecuador host Peru the same day.
