It was raining goals as Brazil reigned supreme in Orlando.
It may have took until the second game, but Brazil found its classic scoring form after powering past Haiti 7-1 Wednesday night in front of 28,241 in attendance at Camping World Stadium.
Philippe Coutinho scored a hat trick, Renato Augusto scored twice with Gabriel Barbosa and Lucas Lima also finding the net as the Selecao (1-0-1, four points) catapulted to Group B leaders of the Copa America Centenario.
“We had a very good game,” said Brazilian coach Dunga through a translator. “Many things that we did in the training happened during the match. We’re always trying to get the characteristic of the team, and we had a positive result. Brazil came to the competition to win, always to win.”
Coutinho opened the scoring for Brazil in the 14th minute after a long-range strike from outside the box beat Haiti goalkeeper Johny Placide. The Liverpool player doubled the lead in the 29th minute after tapping-in a pass from Jonas.
The five-time FIFA World Cup champions made it 3-0 moments later in the 35th minute after Augusto headed in a ball from Dani Alves. Augusto secured his second goal in the 86th minute.
Gabriel Barbosa opened the scoring for Brazil in the second half before Lucas Lima scored Brazil’s fifth goal of the night after heading a cross from Alves, who recorded two assists in the game.
James Marcelin scored Haiti’s first-ever goal in the Copa America in the 70th minute after striking a rebound past Brazilian goalkeeper Allison.
“We were relaxed,” said Dunga on the reason why Brazil missed out on the shutout. “During the game, the tension is at its peak. In futbol today, you cannot give your opponent the opportunity. It’s not important to win, our fight is to win every game.”
Brazil played to a scoreless tie against Ecuador on June 4 in the Rose Bowl.
The Selecao could clinch a berth to the next round with either a win or tie against Peru on June 12.
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