Match Report – Paraguay 2 – 2 Qatar

Qatar overtook its two-goal deficit with a 2-2 draw against Paraguay in its Copa America debut on Sunday.

The Asian champions could have done even better at the Maracana, but Paraguay's goalkeeper Gatito Fernandez made a remarkable performance in the first half of the match.

Qatar had a bad start, falling behind in the first four minutes. Miguel Almiron gave a free kick on the left side of the field and Fabian Balbuena tilted his head on Pedro Miguel's right hand. Veteran Oscar Cardozo scored a penalty against the South American scoring 1-0.

But Qatar, as part of their preparations for the 2022 World Cup, held out and dominated possession of the ball as their Spanish coach Felix Sanchez wanted. At half-time, the Qataris held about 60 percent of the goals against Paraguay, a team that has failed to qualify for the last two World Cups and is trying to rebuild itself.

At the last whistle, the Qataris held 56% of the ball.

At the beginning of the second half, Paraguay replaced Hernan Perez with Derlis Gonzalez, a change that had a quick impact. After 52 minutes, Gonzalez badisted Cardozo with a low central pbad, but the goal was blocked by a critical video call. In the 56th minute, Gonzalez shot in distance shot Saad Alsheeb, Qatar, to score 2-0.

Qatar did not feel intimidated but was inspired by the iconic 87,000-seat stadium in Rio de Janeiro. The 20,000 fans mainly supported Qatar.

The referee came on a cross after 68 minutes when Almoez Ali got the ball delivered to the left side of the box, cut straight inside and sent a high ball to Fernandez for a corner.

After 77 minutes, Qatar raised the score to 2-2 thanks to Boualem Khoukhi after a good set-up.

"Our team has responded well – the boys have always believed that they could regroup," Sanchez said. "We did not start well in both halves, we conceded goals too fast in the first half, and in the end the result was right."

The coach of Paraguay, Eduardo Berizzo, said he was impressed by the quality of Qatar.

"They are really good," said Berizzo. "But for us [the draw] was a punishment. "