Copa America 2016: Without Neymar, Brazil team was held to a draw by Ecuador

(Baonghean.vn) - Despite having superior ball control, the absence of "soul" Neymar meant that Brazil could not find a goal and had to share points with Ecuador in the first match.

Brazil actually really wants a title to dispel the shame of the 2014 World Cup and the 2015 Copa America. Therefore, Brazil only proactively saved star Neymar for the upcoming 2016 Olympics at home. And this was also a reluctant decision, because they could not convince Barca to allow Neymar to play in both tournaments this summer.

Brazil's attack was helpless against Ecuador's solid, focused defense.

Not only in Copa America 2016, Brazil in general has been in a period of decline for many years, and has not been able to escape. Besides two consecutive bad tournaments, World Cup 2014 and Copa America 2015, they are also playing very disappointingly in the qualifying round of World Cup 2018. Coach Carlos Dunga and his team are currently ranked 6th in the race to Russia in the South American region, having only won 9 points after 6 rounds, and were held to a draw in the last 2 rounds, against Uruguay and Paraguay (both with a score of 2-2).

Meanwhile, the Ecuadorian national team is experiencing a period of prosperity, gathering a squad of quality, even players in all lines. Many Ecuadorian players are playing in major tournaments in Europe and the world, such as: Valencia (Man United), Jefferson Montero (Swansea) or Enner Valencia (West Ham). Ecuador is also ranked second in the 2018 World Cup qualifiers in South America, 4 places higher than Brazil. These factors have helped them feel confident against an ambitious Brazil but with a "shrunken" squad.

Ecuador had dangerous counter-attacks but no goals were scored.

Because they knew each other so well, the two teams started the match cautiously, only keeping the speed at an average level and focusing on safety in their home field. Ecuador was the team that had the first dangerous situation of the match with a right-footed shot by player Bolanos in the 5th minute. Brazil immediately responded with a run to make a close-range shot by Coutinho after a cross from Willian, but goalkeeper Esteban Dreer made an excellent save.

From the 10th minute, the match speed began to increase, Brazil pushed up their formation, continuously organizing a siege on the opponent's goal. The Ecuadorian defense and goalkeeper had to work hard but could not prevent the goal from being shaken violently several times. Although they did not have the strongest squad when traveling to the US to participate in Copa America 2016, the players on the field were not necessarily the most outstanding faces of the country's football. However, the Brazilian team played quite smoothly and rhythmically.

The two teams played tit for tat, Brazil constantly organized attacks but had no successful opportunities. Meanwhile, Ecuador still stood firm against all the storms like a challenge to the Samba dancers and had dangerous counter-attacks, making Brazilian fans' hearts skip a beat. The left wing with Montero's mobility was still Ecuador's main attack direction. The right-back position of captain Dani Alves was being thoroughly exploited by the opponent because the former Barcelona player was aging while Montero possessed terrifying speed.

In the final minutes of the match, Brazil tried to pressure their opponents to score a goal but they were powerless. All their efforts were in vain. Besides the solidity of Ecuador's defense, Brazil's attack was not very creative, very mechanical and methodical, so it lacked the necessary breakthrough to break the deadlock.

The two teams left the field with a 0-0 draw, temporarily ranking 2nd and 3rd in Group B. Peru temporarily took the lead thanks to a narrow 1-0 victory over weakest opponent Haiti in the match a few hours earlier. Ecuador was probably the happiest team because they achieved the requirements set out at the beginning of the match. Meanwhile, Brazil still has a lot of work to do if they want to go deep in this tournament.

Kim Thuy