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Alisson Becker was chosen to keep goal for Brazil against Bolivia but the Liverpool man could do nothing to stop his side from falling to another defeat in World Cup qualifying.
Carlo Ancelotti's team struggled to adapt to the altitude in El Alto and lost 1-0 to a goal from Miguel Terceros, who netted from the penalty spot just before half-time. Joao Pedro, Raphinha and Estevao came on in the second half but none could do anything to turn the tide in the fixture.
However, the Brazilian media was relatively sympathetic to the difficulties of playing in tough conditions. It coverage centered around the fact that while Brazil has made it to to the World Cup, it finished fifth in the qualifying standings — its worst ever performance.
Picking up only 28 points from a possible 54 and winning only 51 per cent of the games, Brazil came behind Argentina, Ecuador, Colombia and Uruguay and ahead of only Paraguay of the automatic entrants into the main tournament.
In the old qualifying format, Brazil would have had to compete in the play-offs for finishing fifth. However, with the expanded comeptition, now the top six teams qualify directly for the World Cup and so it has gotten away with it.
"Brazilian team ends the qualifiers with the worst campaign in history" was the verdict from Globo Esporte. Meanwhile, GZH suggested that "Ancelotti won't want to return to Bolivia any time soon".
Elsewhere, No Ataque praised Bolivia for having played the "game of their lives" and noted that Alisson had to be in good form as the host dominated possession in the first half.
Brazil rarely saw the ball, it said, and tried to slow the match down when it could. Alisson was required to keep his side in the game but couldn't do anything with the penalty that beat him.
Liverpool's number one will now return to Merseyside ahead of the trip to Burnley on Sunday as the Premier League resumes.
Alexis Mac Allister was also in action in World Cup qualifying. His side, Argentina, was beaten by Ecuador, with Moises Caicedo and Nicolas Otamendi both getting sent off and the Liverpool midfielder criticized for his performance.
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Argentine outlet Clarin gave Mac Allister a 4/10 rating and wasn't impressed by him. "He was the most advanced of the midfielders Scaloni deployed," it said. "For several periods, he even seemed like an additional striker, just a few meters behind Lautaro Martinez.
"However, he was imprecise and lacked attacking prowess. He barely made any significant interventions for a team that constantly needs him."
Liverpool.com says: Alisson seems to be the undisputed number one for his country these days, which is the correct call. The only drawback with him is injuries, but when he is fit, there is no one better.
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