Arsenal forward Gabriel Martinelli continued his fast start to life as a senior Brazil international, coming off the bench to help Tite's team wrap up a 4-0 World Cup qualifying win in Bolivia.
The 20-year-old had been showing his qualities in training, having earned a senior call-up off the back of some impressive form at club level. And now, with just months remaining until the World Cup in Qatar, he has been making a case for his inclusion.
Martinelli had made his debut in the previous qualifying game against Chile, making a late cameo in a home victory. This time, though, he had an active role to play in the Selecao's third of the night with an impressive bit of pressing from the front.
Martinelli started the game on the bench once more, but was thrown on just 10 minutes into the second half as a replacement for Philippe Coutinho. Just 10 minutes later, Brazil's 2-0 lead had become three with the Gunners forward playing a big part.
His pressure from the front brought a mistake from the Bolivia defence, allowing Lucas Paqueta to capitalise. The Lyon man dinked a pinpoint pass into the path of Bruno Guimaraes, and the Newcastle United midfielder volleyed home.
Martinelli was congratulated by his teammates for his part in the move. The third goal all but wrapped up victory for Tite's men, and a late fourth from Everton forward Richarlison put extra gloss on the scoreline.
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The victory for Brazil took them to 45 points from 17 qualifiers, with 40 goals scored and just five conceded. It breaks the previous record for South American qualifying, with Marcelo Bielsa's Argentina side racking up 43 points en route to the 2002 World Cup.
Brazil still have one game left to add to their tally. The September 2021 meeting with Argentina was abandoned just minutes after kick-off amid a Covid-related controversy, and FIFA have yet to set a new date for the rearranged fixture.
While Brazil and Argentina had already qualified before the March fixtures, the remaining CONMEBOL nations have now completed their campaign with all the places decided. Uruguay and Ecuador have both sealed their places, while Peru's victory over Paraguay in their final qualifier was enough to take them into an intercontinental play-off.
Ricardo Gareca's team will now need to get past the winner of an AFC play-off between Australia and the United Arab Emirates. The inter-confederation game will take place in Qatar in June, with teams from CONCACAF and Oceania meeting during the same week, to help decide the final two qualifiers for the World Cup finals.
