Lack of Firepower Costs Brazil Dear in Copa America Quest

So once again, Brazil fall at the quarter-final stage, their third Copa America hiccup since 1993. And once again, Paraguay, on penalties, were their undoing, robbing the players of the chance of a mouth-watering semi-final showdown with Argentina this coming Tuesday.

Unlike the 2011 edition of the tournament, however, where a stalemate was then met by four blank efforts from the penalty spot, Brazil managed to get their noses in front. But they were made to pay a dear price for failing to put the game to bed when given the chance to in the first half.

Identical to the game against Venezuela last week, the side's productivity and goal threat fell dramatically in the second half. The main difference being on that occasion, Brazil had the cushion of a two-goal lead to fall back on.

This is not exactly a top Paraguayan side either, blessed with stars to drive their team forward in the same way as Chile and Colombia have suddenly come into the South American reckoning. Disciplined, yes. Well-organised, yes.

Yet this is still a country that failed to qualify for the 2014 World Cup, a team that in fact finished bottom of the South American qualifying group for that tournament. Put in that perspective, the failure of Dunga and his cohorts to make the final four is enormous.

There have been glimpses of encouragement for fans that Brazil can indeed turn the page. But anyone who was hoping to see a full exorcism of the ghosts of last summer will have been left sighing wearily, painfully aware that there is a bucket load of work to be done before that can even be considered a possibility.

Another individual and completely avoidable error cost Brazil, and it came from the most unlikely of sources. Thiago Silva, in at the expense of David Luiz and scorer of a quite exquisite volley, inexplicably handled a cross inside the penalty area, giving Paraguay a chance from the penalty spot.

It was a case of deja vu for the Paris Saint-Germain stopper, having made the same mistake against Chelsea in the Champions League earlier in the season.

Gonzalez converted from 12 yards to cancel out Robinho's first-half effort. Despite enjoying the lion's share of possession, it was a familiar tale of woe.

For Dunga, he is likely to face questions after not much of an improvement has been seen 12 months after Luiz Felipe Scolari's World Cup disaster. In no game did Brazil demonstrate their potential, and the harsh truth is now that Brazil have not played convincingly since the final of the 2013 Confederations Cup.

If you can take any positives from the Selecao's second successive quarter-final exit in this continental competition, then Robinho would be a decent place to start. For the second game in a row, he was Brazil's best player, firing Brazil into the lead and a position in which you imagined they could kill the game off.

But like the rest of the team, Robinho faded after the interval, and it is an area Dunga will need to address as he looks ahead to his next task: the World Cup qualifying group, which gets underway in September.

Philippe Coutinho is another plus, and his performances have proved that he can have a future at international level. This was his second start in the Copa America, and despite not putting in a match-changing performance, showed that he possesses the guile and intuition to at least rival Oscar for the playmaker role.

To put the icing on the cake, he put away his penalty calmly, demonstrating further evidence of a temperament suited to dealing with the pressures of tournament football. If needs be, Dunga can build his future side around the pair of Neymar and Coutinho.

But the biggest headache for Dunga will be the lack of a No. 9, highlighted by the haphazard efforts of Diego Tardelli and Roberto Firmino in Chile. The latter started against Paraguay but looked like the shadow of the type of player the coach needs for someone to lead the line.

Far too easily robbed of the ball and unable to hold it up and bring teammates into play, the attack is screaming for a true leader. Quite where he will come from is not clear at the current time.

This was supposed to be the age of reckoning for Leandro Damiao and Alexandre Pato, and perhaps a lack of options means both will get another chance in national colours. What Brazil really lacked was a predator to kill the game off, and you cannot help but feel Dunga's worries will continue until he can find one.