Brazil, Chile play a draw at World Cup venue

Belo Horizonte (Brazil), April 25 (IANS)

Brazil were held to a 2-2 draw by Chile at the Mineirao World Cup stadium here Wednesday.

The match was Brazil’s first to be played at one of the 12 stadiums rebuilt for the 2014 Football World Cup.

Marcos Gonzalez opened the scoring with a seventh-minute header before Rever equalised shortly after by nodding in a Neymar corner kick, Xinhua reports.

Neymar made it 2-1 early in the second half following an Alexandre Pato cross but Eduardo Vargas scored the visitors’ second — and the equaliser — with a long-range drive in the 63rd minute.

Chile were reduced to 10 men with a minute remaining when Braulio Leal was shown a straight red card for a crude two-footed lunge on Fernando.

The match comprised South American-based players only as the match was not played on an official FIFA date.

It was the last chance for Brazil’s fringe players to impress coach Luiz Felipe Scolari before he picks his squad for June’s Confederations Cup, considered a warm-up for the World Cup a year later.

After the match Pato said the team remained upbeat about the Confederations Cup despite the loss.

“It wasn’t the result we had hoped for but we still have time before the Confederations Cup,” the former AC Milan forward said. “Now I have to concentrate on going back to Corinthians and working as hard as possible to be in the squad.”