Leeds United winger Raphinha enjoyed another stellar night in a Brazil shirt as he scored twice on his first start for the Selecao.
Raphinha netted a goal in each half as the Brazilians beat Uruguay 4-1 to secure their 10th win in 11 matches in their quest for World Cup qualification.
The Leeds man opened his account for the night in the 18th minute to double Brazil’s advantage. A deflected Neymar strike was parried straight into the path of Raphinha by goalkeeper Fernando Muslera and he was on hand to tap home from close range.
He then doubled his tally 13 minutes into the second half as he finished off a sweeping counterattack. Neymar’s first time pass in behind the Uruguayan defence set the 24-year-old racing clear on goal and after a good first touch to set himself, he fired a powerful strike across the ‘keeper that arrowed into the bottom corner.
Despite sitting on a hattrick, Raphinha was then substituted 19 minutes from time with the score at 3-0, to hand him some well-earned rest ahead of his potential involvement for Leeds at Southampton in just over 30 hours’ time.
His two-goal haul caps off a superb first international call-up for Raphinha, where he has impressed in each of the three games he has been involved in.
Two assists off the bench on his first cap against Venezuela was followed by another impactful substitute appearance against Colombia.
But his display against the Uruguayans will leave him full of confidence as he heads back to Elland Road for another four important matches before the next international break in November.
