Brazil fail to sparkle in goalless draw with Ecuador

Brazil played out a goalless draw with Ecuador in their Copa America opener at the Rose Bowl on Saturday night – but it could have been worse had Miler Bolanos’s goal not been controversially disallowed for Ecuador.

Bolanos thought he had scored in the 66th minute, when his hopeful cross was badly mishandled by Brazilian keeper Alisson. The ball bobbled into the net, but referee Julio Bascunan, in consultation with the other officials, ruled that the ball had gone out of play as he motioned to cross. On replay, however, it looked as though the whole of the ball had not crossed the line; Ecuador can feel aggrieved by the non-call.

Brazil’s failure to break Ecuador down means Peru finished the day on top of Group B, after their 1-0 victory over Haiti in Seattle earlier on Saturday.

Brazil came into the game without several star players – Neymar, David Luiz, Thiago Silva and Douglas Costa were all missing – and it showed. Dunga’s team enjoyed the lion’s share of possession, and made 647 successful passes to Ecuador’s 271, but they were wasteful in front of goal, and tested Ecuador keeper Esteban Dreer all too rarely.

Substitute Lucas Moura spurned Brazil’s best chance with six minutes left, when he headed into the side netting. Philippe Coutinho had two golden opportunities in the first half, but failed to hit the target on either occasion.

Neymar, Brazil’s captain, watched from the executive boxes. He didn’t have permission from Barcelona to play in the Copa America as well as the Olympics in Rio in August. Daniel Alves took the captain’s armband in his place.

The draw maintained Brazil’s unbeaten run against Ecuador in Copa America play – but raised questions over their ability to win the tournament.

Casemiro, who won the Champions League last week with Real Madrid, played a full 90 minutes in midfield, as did Liverpool’s Coutinho. Willian started the game before being replaced by Lucas in the 75th minute.