(Reuters) – Brazil's Vinicius Junior bounced back from a lackluster performance in his opening match of the tournament by scoring twice in his team's 4-1 victory over Paraguay in Copa America Group D in Nevada on Friday.
Colombia, who have booked their place in the quarter-finals, top Group D with six points after two games, while Brazil are in second place with four points.
Costa Rica finished third with one point, while Paraguay finished last with 0 points after two losses and was eliminated from the tournament.
From the early stages of the match, Vinicius' speed and technical skill made him a constant threat down the left wing for Paraguay, but this was a stark difference from his performance in Brazil's 0-0 draw with Costa Rica in their opening group game, where he was largely ineffective.
Despite Brazil's strong start, Paraguay almost took the lead in the 15th minute when Damian Bobadilla's goal-bound shot hit Eder Militão wide and nearly sent Brazil goalkeeper Alisson Becker flying past, but Becker's quick reflexes prevented the shot from being deflected.
Brazil were awarded a penalty in the 28th minute for handball and Lucas Paqueta shot wide, but the midfielder made up for his mistake seven minutes later with a one-touch pass to Vinicius to cap off some fluid team play.
Girona winger Savio doubled Brazil's lead by clinching a rebound inside the penalty area, before Vinicius tipped Omar Alderete's clearance into the net in first-half added time for his second goal of the night.
Paraguay pulled one back in the second half with a superb long-range shot from Alderete, but any hopes of a comeback were quickly dashed when Brazil were awarded a penalty in the 68th minute for handball by Matias Villasanti.
Despite his previous miss, Paqueta made no mistake with his second shot, scoring and sending the Brazilian fans at the Allegiant Stadium into a frenzy.
Although emotions flared in the closing stages of the match, with Andres Cubas being shown a red card for kicking Douglas Luis, Brazil used their numerical advantage to comfortably finish the game and secure the three points.
Brazil next plays group leader Colombia on Tuesday in California, where a draw will guarantee a place in the quarterfinals, while Costa Rica plays Paraguay in Texas.
(Reporting by Aadhi Nair in Bengaluru; Editing by Edwina Gibbs and Himani Sarkar)