Wolves midfielder Joao Gomes started for Brazil as they secured a thumping 4-1 victory over Paraguay at Copa America.
Brazil are unsurprisingly one of the favourites to win Copa America, a prestigious tournament that is being held in the United States.
Joao Gomes – who made his international debut against England at Wembley in March – put in a decent shift in his side’s first match of Copa America, drawing 0-0 against Costa Rica.
Brazil manager Dorival Junior ordered a response from his team ahead of their clash against Paraguay and they did so emphatically by securing a 4-1 victory as the talented Wolves midfielder played a full ninety minutes.
The Brazilian media have since reacted to his performances, so with that said, here’s how he was rated after the match.
How the Brazilian media reacted to Joao Gomes’ display vs Paraguay
A brace from Real Madrid star Vinicius Junior and strikes from Savio and Lucas Paqueta secured Brazil a statement victory against their South American counterparts.
Gomes didn’t score or assist in the match, although he was criticised for not being more efficient defensively by Correio Braziliense, who scored him a 6.5/10 for his performance, saying: “Another pillar in front of the defense, he performed as expected, but could have been more efficient defensively to contain the opposing attacks. He didn’t intercept any ball.”
GE Globo also handed him a 6.5/10 rating but unlike the previous summary, praised his ‘intensity’ and ‘combativeness’ in the engine room: “Another good performance, with intensity and combativeness in the midfield. His performance improved when he moved from the left side and started playing more centrally, halfway through the first half.”
Gomes was also lauded for his tackling by Zero Hora, although his rating was brought down to 5.5 due to his poor distributing and exaggerating fouls: “Good in tackling, but shy in distributing the game. He exaggerated his fouls.”
It’s clear where Joao Gomes must improve
Gomes earned mixed reviews for his performances against Paraguay. Whilst some were left impressed by his combative midfield display, others were critical of his distribution and that is the key area where the 23-year-old must improve.
O’Neil said previously that to elevate his game to the next level, he must improve his output going forward, including the creative and attacking elements of his repertoire.
Gomes showed glimpses of his quality in the final with a brace against Tottenham in March but Wolves haven’t seen enough of his threat in attack.
Against Paraguay, he made zero key passes, and long ball attempts and even won just 33% of his ground duels (3/9), as per Sofascore.
That is an uncharacteristically poor showing from the Wolves midfielder, who ranked behind only Fulham’s Joao Palhinha for tackles in the Premier League last term.
Indeed, there are a lot of refinements he can make to his game, though there is no doubt Gomes does have the potential to become world-class.