Ricardo Gareca may have conveniently missed the controversial goal that sealed his Peru side’s 1-0 win over Brazil and put them into the quarter-finals at the Copa America Centenario, but he feels his side’s win was deserved.
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In fairness, while Brazil’s performance was largely underwhelming, the defeat did come about in extremely controversial circumstances – Raul Ruidiaz quite clearly bundling the only goal of the game over the line with his hand/arm/thing in the 79th minute.
Replays showed that the substitute had made use of his hand to push Andy Polo’s cross to hit the ball into the net at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts. But, after more than two minutes of consultation between the officials, they chose to award the goal to Peru.
A 0-0 opening draw with Ecuador-where a refereeing decision which might have given Ecuador a victory went in Brazil’s favour-was followed by a 7-1 drubbing of Haiti, arguably the weakest team in the tournament. “We can not change what everyone saw”, Dunga said.
Dunga began his second innings well being unbeaten in his first seven games but Brazil are sixth among 10 teams in the South American World Cup qualifiers. Enner Valencia, Jaime Ayovi, Noboa and Antonio Valencia got their names on the score sheet for Ecuador in their final group stage clash.
Their early exit from the tournament, coupled with the 7-1 defeat to Germany in the semi-finals of their home World Cup in 2014, will add to the pressure on Brazil as they chase an elusive first Olympic football gold on home soil.
The ball appeared to strike Ruidiaz’s hand, and Brazil coach Dunga was angered that the strike was not disallowed.
Brazil coach Dunga lambasted the decision to allow Peru’s goal.
“Logically when there is a loss, there’s always a cost but I’m also sure that the fans saw that the game, especially the first half, and saw how Brazil was eliminated”, Dunga was quoted as saying by mlssoccer.com.
“The team was not eliminated by anything to do with football”, he said.
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Dunga came in for extensive criticism after the match, and the 52-year-old’s second spell in charge of the national team could well be over after the loss. In real time, despite Brazilian players’ fierce complaints, it was hard to tell definitively what had happened. And then from 1994 until 2002 we won a lot and so we Brazilians got used to winning.
