Brazil defeated Paraguay 4-1 on Friday night thanks to Vinícius Junior’s two first-half goals, putting them in a strong position to advance from Group D of the Copa America.

Savinho also scored a goal for Brazil in the first half, while Lucas Paqueta converted a penalty kick in the second. Omar Alderete scored Paraguay’s goal.

There were some tense moments, with five yellow cards and one red card dished out. Andres Cubas was sent off in the 81st minute for a red card, forcing Paraguay to play the remainder of the match with one fewer man. Brazil’s Wendell, Junior, and Paqueta received yellow cards, as did Paraguay’s Fabian Balbuena and Hernesto Caballero.

The Seleção Canarinho’s victory came after a scoreless tie against Costa Rica, despite outshooting them 18-2.

Brazil has four points, two behind group leader Colombia, who thrashed Costa Rica 3-0 earlier Friday. Brazil’s victory or tie against Colombia on Tuesday secures one of the group’s two berths in the knockout stage. Brazil also has a six-goal differential over Costa Rica, so a loss is unlikely to prevent the nine-time Copa America champions from competing.

Brazil has struggled against Paraguay in Copa America play, drawing the previous five matches. That equaled for the second-longest unbeaten record against Brazil in this event, which Paraguay also competed in from 1963 to 1983.

However, Brazil won the most recent meeting, thrashing Paraguay 4-0 in World Cup qualification two years ago, and there was little uncertainty about the outcome of this match after two late goals broke the deadlock in what was a difficult first half.

Savinho put Brazil ahead 2-0 in the 43rd minute, only moments after teammate Bruno Guimaraes struck the crossbar.

In extra time, both teams got into a scrum, and Chilean referee Piero Maza Gomez gave Wendell and Balbuena yellow cards after three or more minutes. Then, five minutes into overtime, Junior delivered the devastating blow.

Paraguay had several opportunities and outshot Brazil 8-5, including 4-3 on goal. 15 minutes into the game, Brazil goalkeeper Alisson Becker produced a spectacular stop diving to his right to save Damián Bobodilla’s goal.

However, Alderete scored early in the second half, bringing the score to 3-1.

Then, 17 minutes later, Paqueta converted to restore Brazil’s three-goal lead after missing a penalty in the first half.

Brazil coach Dorival Júnior made a contentious decision by not starting Raphinha. The move, which featured national team legend Neymar observing from the stands, definitely paid off.

Raphinha entered the game in the 72nd minute, replacing Savinho.