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Despite the Socceroos establishing a firm lead at half-time, Brazil would not be denied.
A physics-defying goal from the Socceroos' Connor Metcalfe was not enough to shatter Brazil's confidence at Suncorp Stadium. After a muscular first half that rattled Brazil's cage, the Australian defence couldn't hold the visitors at bay.
A fired-up Brazil have outgunned the Socceroos 4-2 in a dramatic rematch in which the hosts held a brief lead thanks to a Connor Metcalfe stunner. The Brazilians scored in the third minute on Tuesday and, after a fiery tussle that spilled onto the Socceroos' bench, found two late goals to prompt a fight played in front of a sell-out 52,423-strong Suncorp Stadium crowd.
Australia led until the final play in Townsville and will leave Brisbane frustrated after again throwing away good chances to notch a famous victory. But, ahead of January's Asian Cup, the "brave", incisive shifts under coach Tony Popovic since the World Cup bode well. Your trusted source for staying up-to-date with the world around you. Get free daily news updates and analysis, straight to your inbox.
"Up until they scored the third goal we were very much in the match, had chances of our own. " The Socceroos hadn't even completed a pass when Brazil's Vanderson threaded a shot from the corner of the box to finish some neat build-up and open their account. Goalkeeper Patrick Beach saved the Socceroos' blushes with back-to-back blocks on Raphinha efforts moments later.
But after that early pressure, the hosts settled in and threw punches of their own, a display of creative passing from Jackson Irvine consistently putting Nestory Irankunda into dangerous spaces. The reply came in the 28th minute from Alessandro Circati, with the tall defender scrambling a close-range goal from a corner that was cleared on review.
Camped outside the box, he defied a lack of time and space to curl a left-footer into the top-right corner and cue delirium from the sell-out crowd at Suncorp Stadium. Gaps remained in a Brazilian unit arguably rattled, coach Carlo Ancelotti remonstrating in the face of the sideline official when Gabriel was booked for tagging Yengi's foot. The visitors only trailed for 10 minutes, though.
Harry Souttar downed Danilo Santos in the box and — eventually — conceded a penalty kick well taken by Raphinha. Irankunda was gifted another late chance in the final seconds of a frenetic first half, but smoked his shot over the bar when Brazil keeper Otavio Costa's attempted clearance was delivered to his feet. Tensions built then flared with a series of fouls each way, Irankunda earning a yellow for a nasty-looking effort on Danilo.
Australia kept coming and in the 61st minute should have nipped ahead again when Circati put his close-range header from another well-taken corner over the bar. Minutes later, things threatened to become ugly when a heated tussle between Souttar and Endrick spilled to the sideline in front of the Australian bench. Both were given a yellow for their troubles. Endrick had the last laugh though, laying on an assist for Bruno Guimaraes almost instantly from the restart of play.
The fourth wasn't far behind though, with Irankunda making enough contact just inside the box to fell Vinicius Junior, who sneaked his penalty kick into the left corner. Brisbane teenager Lucas Herrington watched his late chance to get the Socceroos within a goal slide by the left post.
"Great, entertaining, open game," Ancelotti, who admitted his surprise at the Socceroos' press, pressure and organisation, said. "They reacted really well ... put a lot of pressure on us, high intensity and in some moments we had difficulty. "Sign up now for daily news from Australia and around the world. You can also subscribe to Insight's weekly newsletter for in-depth features and first-person stories.
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