Brazil narrowly escaped their opening match against Ecuador with a 0-0 draw, but Wednesday’s meeting with Haiti had a drastically different tone.
The Selecao began the match firing at Camping World Stadium and finished with a 7-1 win against Haiti behind a hat trick from Liverpool sensation Philippe Coutinho.
The 23-year-old opened the scoring for the Brazilians in the the 14th minute after a dazzling run past several Haitian defenders. Coutinho unleashed a powerful effort towards the near post, leaving goalkeeper Johnny Placide helpless as the South Americans took the 1-0 lead.
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This powerful strike from @Phil_Coutinho gave Brazil a 1-0 lead. His 2nd international goal! #BRAvHAI #MyCopaColors https://t.co/52fjGlUimz
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 8, 2016
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Brazil looked much more comfortable in possession on Wednesday night, as Dunga’s side was able to spread their opposition out and keep the ball the away.
The Selecao‘s advantage doubled just before the half hour mark, when Coutinho found his second goal of the night. Jonas found the ball in front of goal and laid the ball off to a wide-open Coutinho, who scored his second goal of the night. The attacker added his third in second half stoppage time.
Dani Alves looked dangerous down the right wing throughout the match, and his 35th minute cross to Renato Augusto rewarded both players and the Brazil squad with the game’s third goal. Augusto would later add his second in the dying minutes for the team’s sixth.
While Haiti did manage a few more chances to get forward in the second half, Brazil put the game to rest in the 59th minute, when Gabriel scored his second goal of the tournament and made the scoreline 4-0 in Orlando.
Lucas Lima tacked on a fifth finish for the Brazilians in the 67th minute, before James Marcelin pulled one back for Haiti three minutes later.
Currently atop Group B, Brazil will finish off their group stage run against Peru, while Haiti finishes up against Ecuador.