Brazil had to settle for a 1-1 draw with Ecuador after Felix Torres’ header 15 minutes from time canceled out an early strike from Casemiro in a remarkable World Cup qualifier. world Thursday.

The incident-rich clash saw both teams send off a player in the first 20 minutes and Brazil goalkeeper Alisson was shown a red card only twice for both to be disallowed after consultation with the Video Assistant Referee (VAR) .

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Ecuador will feel aggrieved to have a goal scored and two penalties canceled by VAR – including one in second-half stoppage time – but they were just rewarded for their resilience when Torres returned home from a corner.

Casemiro had given Brazil the lead after five minutes when he hammered in from close range after a scramble for goal.

This was followed by Ecuadorian goalkeeper Alexander Dominguez being shown a red card for a careless challenge after 15 minutes before Brazil full-back Emerson Royal was sent off for a second yellow card following an awkward challenge five minutes later.

The five-time world champions have already qualified for this year’s final in Qatar with Argentina, who play in Chile later on Thursday.

Ecuador are third in the South American 10-nation standings with 24 points from 15 games, seven points ahead of Colombia and Peru, who are one game behind.

The top four automatically qualify for the World Cup while the fifth-placed team enters the playoffs with an Asian confederation side.