LOS ANGELES: Brazil’s poor performance in their goalless draw against Costa Rica in their Copa America Group ‘D’ opener on Monday has dam­pe­ned the enthusiasm surrounding their new manager and a revamped squad headlined by Vinicius Jr.

After a gritty 1-0 win over England at Wembley and a hard-fought draw 3-3 with Spain at the Bernabeu earlier this year, fans were optimistic that Brazil had turned a corner under Dorival Jr but his side had no answers to Costa Rica’s five-man defence at the SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

As the clock ticked down and the five-time world champions’ frustrations grew, Dorival decided to make his first two substitutions in the 70th minute.

His decision to take Vinicius out of the game came as a huge surprise.

Even Brazil talisman Neymar, who is recovering from a serious knee injury but was at the stadium as a fan, could not hide his dismay.

The broadcast showed his reaction in the stands when the stadium speaker announced the change, exclaiming “Vini?” repeatedly, with his arms open, looking at his friends in disbelief.

Vinicius arrived at the Copa America as a strong contender to win the Ballon d’Or after a hugely succ­essful season with La Liga winners Real Madrid.

The 23-year-old netted their second goal against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League final as Real claimed a record-extending 15th European crown.

The jet-heeled forward torments defences and always seems to come to the fore when the pressure is at its highest, scoring 24 goals for his club last season after being given the freedom to roam across the front line by Real manager Carlo Ancelotti.

Things are different with Brazil.

Vinicius is deployed as more of an orthodox forward wide on the left and has scored only three goals in 31 games for Brazil.

On Monday, Vinicius struggled to make an impact from the left wing and exited the game without a shot on target.

Dorival said he tried moving Vinicius around before replacing him with 17-year-old Endrick.

“We tried with him on the wing and we didn’t succeed. Then put him inside and we couldn’t find a way through either ... he was very well marked,” Dorival said. “We had to find a solution, I was trying to make a change. We tried various alternatives, several situations were created, but in the end we were unsuccessful with our finishing.”

Costa Rica’s strategy of trying to contain Brazil and deprive them of space paid dividends even if Gustavo Alfaro’s side rode their luck at times.

Alfaro said Costa Rica had been written off before the match had even started.

“We were Bruce Willis in ‘The Sixth Sense,’ where the only one that did not know he was dead was him, right?” he said through an interpreter. “Well, everyone thought we were dead before the movie started in our case.”

RESURGENT RODRIGUEZ INSPIRES COLOMBIA

Colombia lead Group ‘D’ after James Rodri­guez inspired them to a 2-1 win over Paraguay at Houston’s NRG Stadium earlier on Monday.

Rodriguez, whose club career has languished in the decade since he rose to prominence with a dazzling performance at the 2014 World Cup, evoked memories of his breakthrough performance after the midfielder set up both goals for his team.

The 32-year-old, who has played just a handful of minutes for Brazilian club Sao Paulo — his fourth club in as many seasons — in the two months leading into the Copa America, set up the opening goal for Colombia in the 32nd minute.

After finding space on the left, Rodriguez flighted a pinpoint cross to the far post to pick out Daniel Munoz, who beat Paraguay goalkeeper Rodrigo Morinigo with a firm downward header to make it 1-0.

Ten minutes later Colombia doubled their lead and again it was a goal engineered by the trusty left boot of Rodriguez.

This time the goal arrived from the opposite flank, with Rodriguez swinging in a wicked free-kick that was glanced in by Crystal Palace midfielder Jefferson Lerma.

Paraguay intensified their efforts in the second half, with Julio Enciso turning in Ramon Sosa’s cross in the 69th minute to set up a nervy finish but Colombia shut up shop and kept the door firmly closed.

Published in Dawn, June 26th, 2024