Brazil U17 saw off Venezuela U17 3-0 in a friendly international on Saturday, extending their recent dominance over their South American neighbours. The hosts made no mistake at home, building on a 2-1 victory just three days earlier in a fixture that has swung decisively their way of late.
The opening came in the twenty-fourth minute when L. Caramico found the net, and here's the thing — you could sense the shift in momentum before the ball even crossed the line. Brazil pressed higher, Venezuela dropped deeper, and the pattern held for most of the half.
By then, Venezuela were reduced to a defensive shell, and the second goal arrived as a penalty in the fifty-fifth minute, converted by Kaue Junior. The third followed almost immediately, M. Aurelio Pesseti Barbosa adding a second in quick succession in the fifty-ninth.
What struck me watching from the stand was the way the game settled after the opener. Brazil didn't panic, didn't rush — they simply moved the ball with purpose. To be fair, Venezuela showed character in staying compact, but they switched off at a set piece and paid for it.
These U17 fixtures rarely produce statistics worth noting, but the pattern tells its own story. Brazil have now beaten Venezuela in three of their last five meetings, with the only blemish being a 3-0 away loss to Colombia in April.
The result leaves Brazil in good shape ahead of the next window, and by then the coaching staff will have plenty of footage to work with. Three clean goals in a friendly doesn't guarantee much, but it shows the attacking structure is clicking.