Neymar, their talismanic captain, is being rested for the Olympics in Rio de Janeiro in August – the only worldwide title to elude Brazil.
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Brazil manager Dunga said he hadn’t been close enough to judge whether the goal should have been allowed. The level of play displayed so far has been very under watchers and fans’ expectations.
The Selecao aren’t in spectacular form as they won only three out of last seven games, sitting in the fifth place in CONMEBOL qualifications for the 2018 World Cup. We went out there for a win since the beginning, we tried in many ways, but the Copa America is very hard and now we have to think about winning the next game. Ecuador coach Gustavo Quinteros was convinced that the goal should have counted, but Dunga insisted that Brazil were the better side.
But Dunga said there was no question of replacing the 23-year-old keeper, who recently signed with Serie A club AS Roma.
After a yellow card to Brazil’s Elias, Ecuador’s Enner Valencia attempted a free kick in the 36th minute that Alisson saved for Brazil.
Ecuador enter the tournament tied with Uruguay at the top of CONMEBOL’s World Cup Qualifying table and they are seen by many as the most likely to advance with Brazil. Brazil plays Haiti while Ecuador plays group leader Peru. The only positive note was the performance of Willian, a midfielder who plays for Chelsea.
There was a trademark long-range effort which failed to find the back of the net, and he also managed to flatten teammate Luis, following an unfortunate second-half collision.
SEATTLE (US), JUNE 5: Paolo Guerrero scored with a diving header in the 60th minute to give Peru a 1-0 win against Haiti in the Copa America Centenario football tournament Group B opener at the CenturyLink Field stadium.
Costa Rica’s Kendall Waston was sent off in the 94th minute for a reckless tackle on Nelson Valdez.
In Orlando, Florida, Group A rivals Costa Rica and Paraguay played a goalless draw. Moreover, the goal signaled that the star was still ready to contribute to his country the same way he did previous year when he was a joint-top scorer in the Copa America with four goals.
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The win was just about deserved for Peru, who created the better chances but struggled to break down a well-organised Haiti defence.
