Brazil vs. Argentina: Score and Reaction for World Cup 2018 Qualifying

Brazil earned a convincing 3-0 win over Argentina on Thursday night in the Mineirao in Belo Horizonte, Brazil.

Philippe Coutinho, Neymar and Paulinho were the goalscorers as the Brazilians cruised to three points. It was an impressive performance that was made all the more so given the stature of their opponents.

Brazil were particularly effective in the final third when Neymar and Coutinho put their creativity on display.

Coutinho has been one of the driving forces behind Liverpool's hot start to the Premier League season, and he carried that form over to Thursday night, providing the opener in the 25th minute. 

The goal will be familiar to those who have watched Coutinho's work with the Reds. The 24-year-old received a pass on the left from Neymar and cut inside to bring the ball on his right foot. After taking a couple of dribbles, he unleashed a powerful shot past Argentine goalkeeper Sergio Romero and into the back of the net.

BeIN Sports USA provided a replay of the goal:

Neymar knew he had seen something special as Brazil took the lead:

Sports Illustrated's Grant Wahl thought Coutinho does his best work farther away from goal:

Neymar doubled Brazil's advantage in the first minute of first-half injury time. The Barcelona attacker got in behind the Argentina defense, with Gabriel Jesus delivering a perfect through ball to send him clear on goal. Neymar calmly slid his effort into the bottom right corner.

BeIN Sports USA shared a second look at the move:

It was the 50th goal of Neymar's international career:

Argentina didn't have a poor first half on balance. Lucas Biglia had a volley saved in the 23rd minute, and Emmanuel Mas laid a perfect pass across goal that could have given La Albiceleste their first goal if Gonzalo Higuain had been in position to receive the ball.

Efficiency was the biggest reason Brazil took a 2-0 lead into the dressing room at halftime. They put away both of their shots on goal, whereas Argentina saw Brazil's Alisson save their two shots on goal.

Brazil also bottled up Lionel Messi, who continues to be shackled by his Argentina teammates. One or more Brazilian defenders hovered around Messi at all times, and they weren't afraid to foul him at the slightest hint of danger.

Argentina have a lot of individual talent, but as Men in Blazers tweeted, coach Edgardo Bauza, like many of his predecessors, has failed to get the team to play as a cohesive unit:

The second half didn't get off to a promising start for Argentina. In the 55th minute, Pablo Zabaleta cleared a shot from Paulinho off the line to preserve the two-goal deficit.

Argentine football writer Sam Kelly saw a distinct disparity between the two halves for Bauza's side:

Paulinho had a second crack at goal and scored in the 58th minute. It was poor defending from Argentina, who failed to deal with Marcelo's cross into the box and then left Paulinho unmarked to have a free shot from close range.

There are few—if any—positives to take away from the defeat for Argentina. They've struggled in World Cup qualifying so far and remain in sixth place through 11 matches.

Bauza has time to turn things around, and only two points separate third and sixth place. Stringing together a couple of wins will give Argentina a radically different outlook ahead of World Cup 2018.

With that said, many of the issues that have plagued Argentina in the past continue to cause problems for them. Even if they climb into an automatic qualification place, Bauza has a lot of work ahead if he's to make the team a serious contender in Russia.

Brazil, on the other hand, have looked a different team under Tite. Since he officially took over in September, the Selecao are unbeaten in their last five matches.

They now sit top of the CONMEBOL table with Thursday's victory, with seven points separating them from fifth place—the final spot through which a team can qualify for the World Cup. That provides Brazil a nice buffer in the event they hit a rough patch.

Brazil have had false dawns before, and memories of the 2014 World Cup will give supporters pause before they hype up the team too much. Still, Tite has the squad headed in the right direction.

Post-Match Reaction

Bauza wants to quickly move on from Thursday's defeat.

"In three days we have another match," he said, per FourFourTwo. “We know that qualification depends on us."

Bauza also discussed how his tactical approach to the game allowed Brazil to enjoy more freedom when they had possession: "With the result, I had to take risks. But it was a match with plenty of space for Brazil."

It was an emotional night for Brazil, who were playing since the death of legend Carlos Alberto on Oct. 25.

"We dedicate this win to [Alberto]," Tite said after the match, according to the Press Association Sport (via ESPN FC). "The start was better than I expected. I finished my pregame speech with an image of [Alberto's] goal to show team spirit."