Brazil Held by Costa Rica in Copa America Opener
WHAT HAPPENED? A star-studded Brazil line-up could only manage a goalless draw against Costa Rica in their Group D opener in Los Angeles. Despite fielding an attacking lineup featuring Real Madrid stars Vinicius and Rodrygo, the Selecao struggled to break down Costa Rica’s resolute defence, managing only three shots on target out of 19 attempts.
THE BIGGER PICTURE Despite the absence of their all-time leading scorer Neymar, who is recovering from injury, Brazil fans had high hopes following Vinicius’ standout season at Real Madrid. However, Vinicius has urged fans to be patient with the team’s progress and at the same time called upon his teammates to put their best foot forward in the subsequent matches.
WHAT VINICIUS SAID “Every time I enter the field for the national team, I have three or four players marking me,” Vinicius told reporters.
“New coach, new players, everything takes time. Our fans want everything immediately done, but we’re going little by little. In the next game, I’m sure we’ll play much better because we now already understand what the competition will be like, what the pitch, and what the referees will be like. We know we can improve, we have to improve. I also know what I can improve, evolve and do for our team.”
DID YOU KNOW? Coach Dorival Junior faced a tactical dilemma as Brazil failed to find the back of the net. He eventually substituted Vinicius Jr. for Endrick in the 71st minute, a move that did not yield the desired results. “We tried with him [Vinicius] on the wing and we didn’t succeed,” Dorival explained. “Then we put him inside and we couldn’t find a way through either … he was very well marked.”