Dani Alves tracks Bolanos
Rose Bowl. June 4
Brazil and Ecuador produced plenty colour, plenty cards but no goals in their opening encounter in the 2016 Copa America.
Ecuador had the ball in the net once after a tame Miller Bolanos shot was fumbled in by Brazil keeper Alisson but the linesman ruled that the ball had gone out of play. Both sides will probably remain relieved rather than disappointed by the result with Peru only putting one goal past Haiti, the pressure to won this game was somewhat reduced.
The yellow card tally on the night was twice that of shots on goal as this competition continued to fail to inspire the American soccer population. 3 goals in 4 games is bad enough but two of the three have been conceded by the host nation, and there has been only one goal in the last seven halves of football.
Brazil may have outpassed their opponents 647 – 271 according to Opta but had little to show for it and Ecuador didn’t seem as outplayed as that suggests. Officially that gap was 522 t0 196 but the story remains the same. Brazil in fact had more passes in their opponents’ half as Ecuador had in total but didn’t seem that dominant and the shot total was pitifully low considering that.
Brazil entered tonight’s match at the Rosebowl in Pasadena with somewhat less than a clear head. A poor start in WC Qualification was bad enough, but on top of that 7-1 thrashing in their own World Cup, these are times for self doubt in Brazilian football.
Since then, Brazil had played six competitive games in qualifications for the 2018 World Cup, with two wins and three draws out of six. They sit an embarrassing sixth, two places if only one point behind behind Chile in 4th, the last certain qualification place. It should be pointed out that they are undefeated in their last five but needed a stoppage time Alves goal to avoid a humiliating loss in the Defensores del Chaco in the Paraguayan capital of Asuncion.
The summer Olympics in Rio were supposed to be a second showcase for the massive South American nation. Instead the world headlines have concerned the Zika virus, the corruption allegations against President Rousseff, and failed drug tests from London.
Into that, stepped an inexperienced Brazil squad shorn of late withdrawals. A competitive first half produced no goals although Brazil came closer of the two sides, with Esteban Dreer in the Ecuador goal denying Jonas early.
Both sets of fans were clad in bright yellow
Photo: Debbie von Winckelmann
Willian on Brazil’s right was tormenting the Ecuadorians but they defended confidently and broke dangerously. It was not difficult for non South American eyes to see why Brazil were struggling in CONMEBOL qualification.
The second half was definitely chippier with the game starting to look more like a competitive fixture and less like one of those dreary exhibition friendlies the US soccer authorities use to bilk soccer starved immigrant populations. Still few among the 53, 158 who paid exorbitant amounts to watch and even park will feel they got their money’s worth with only five shots on goal in total.
Neither side could find the killer touch and Peru and Haiti will need to be a more fertile source of the wins and goals both need to progress to the next round.
In the group’s other match, Peru beat Haiti 1-0.
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