Ecuador stops Brazil and achieves the pass to the quarterfinals

It was with suffering and over the horn, but Ecuador in the end managed to stay with the last place in the quarterfinals of the Copa América after taking a brave draw against Brazil (1-1) on the last day of the group stage of the competition. La Tri will face the leader of Group A, between Argentina, Paraguay or Uruguay, which will be defined after the day of this Monday.

Brazil entered the field classified as first in Group B, with full victories, a streak of ten consecutive wins and Tite made ten changes to the starting eleven. He gave rest even to Neymar and the canarinha missed her star, mainly at the time of the last pass whenever she tried to approach the Ecuadorian area.

However, Brazil dominated the first half with 70% possession and Éder Militão scored 1-0 with a header in the 37th minute, after a free kick by Everton Cebolinha from the right wing into the area. The Real Madrid center-back climbed higher than the rival defenders and scored with a nice header.

The scare came five minutes later, after an irresponsible play by Enner Valencia that was thrown against Marquinhos and Lodi in a ball dispute in the Brazilian area and knocked them both out. The PSG center-back recovered but the Atlético de Madrid side went to the locker room limping and with his hand on his back. Lodi tried to return in the second half but asked for the change at 49 ‘, when he left the pitch crying in pain and disappointment.

With the defeat and the tie at halftime between Venezuela and Peru, Ecuador was eliminated and their players returned to the second half with the urgency of scoring at least one point to qualify. And he did it with Mena, who took advantage of a lost ball after a corner in the Brazilian area to tie the game.

Ecuador continued to attack and seek victory against a Brazil unrecognizable without its big names. Tite still took out Casemiro, Vini and Richarlison at the end of the match, but the changes contributed little to a match that seemed formal for an unmotivated Canarinha.