During the ongoing international break, much action has been happening for football fans. From the perspective of European clubs, it arrived with certain positives as well as some negatives. While for clubs like Newcastle United, who hadn't been delivering their best on the field, the international break had been quite a crucial period; however, it seems that it ended with a surprising shock.
Paraguay 1-0 Brazil: A tale of opposites for two Newcastle stars
The break had been proving much more effective for Newcastle's season ahead, with star players like Sandro Tonali, Alexander Isak, and Anthony Gordon coming back to their level best. However, the recent fixture of the World Cup 2026 qualifiers went on to become a tale of two opposites for the Magpies club, being a bit shocking.
Brazil was scheduled to take on Paraguay in the qualifiers, and the fixture involved two of Newcastle's seasoned stars, Captain Bruno Guimaraes for Brazil and winger Miguel Almiron for Paraguay. Having a comparatively much better lineup, including stars like Vini Jr., Rodrygo, Bruno Guimaraes, and Marquinhos, it was expected to be an easy fixture for the Brazilian side.
But destiny had other plans, as Paraguay clinched a 1-0 victory thanks to a 20th-minute winner from Diego Gomez. Not only was the match's result a bit shocking for everyone, but in particular, Bruno Guimaraes' sloppy performance seemed traumatizing for Newcastle fans. While Newcastle would be happy for Almiron's side's victory, their captain's performance would certainly be difficult to digest for them.
Guimaraes has been facing much criticism for not helping cross Diego Gomez's thunderous shot, which led to Brazil going behind Paraguay. In fact, Newcastle's captain was taken off in the 46th minute after mediocre play in the first half. On the other hand, with this 1-0 victory, Paraguay have boosted their chances of making it to the WC 2026.
Overall, the Brazil Vs Paraguay fixture proved to be a tale of two extremes for the Newcastle unit, with Almiron ending the night on the winning side. But now that the international break is nearly over, the Newcastle players would focus on club football, helping the club continue its decent start. Much expectation would be from Captain Guimaraes on turning things around in Newcastle jersey.