Brazil vs. Ecuador: Score, Reaction from 2016 Copa America

Brazil and Ecuador played to a 0-0 draw in the Copa America Centenario on Saturday night in the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California.  

The Brazilians were lucky to have walked away with one point after the linesman ruled out an Ecuador goal in the 66th minute. Miller Bolanos seemingly gave Ecuador the lead when Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson Becker spilled a low cross into the back of the net.

However, the linesman determined all of the ball crossed the byline before Bolanos' attempted pass, thus wiping the goal off the board. Fox Soccer provided a replay of the controversial incident:

Judging by this screenshot from CSNMidAtlantic.com's J. Michael, a tiny part of the ball remained in play just before Bolanos' cross:

TopDrawerSoccer.com's Will Parchman wasn't happy with the call:

Fox Sports' Rob Stone asked the question on many fans' minds:

In truth, neither Brazil or Ecuador were thoroughly deserving of a victory. The two combined to have three shots on target—two for Brazil and one for Ecuador. Brazilian soccer journalist Paulo Freitas thought a draw was the right outcome on balance:

Granted, many will be disappointed by the Brazilians' performance. Manager Dunga has a less-than-full-strength side in the United States for the tournament, but that has done nothing to lessen the country's expectations. A segment of Brazilian supporters in Pasadena booed the team as the players walked off the pitch at the end of the game.

Australian broadcaster Les Murray views Dunga as the source of the team's problems:

Although the first 45 minutes went without a goal, the opening half wasn't devoid of drama. It was an entertaining chess match between one team (Brazil) that enjoyed the majority of possession and another (Ecuador) who looked increasingly dangerous on the counterattack.

Brazil nearly took a 1-0 lead in the first minute. Willian delivered a nice low cross to the feet of Philippe Coutinho just on the edge of the six-yard box. Somehow, Ecuador goalkeeper Esteban Dreer made a point-blank save to deny the Liverpool midfielder, via Fox Soccer:

Jefferson Montero nearly had a golden opportunity to put Ecuador ahead in the 34th minute. The Swansea City winger had acres of space ahead of him down the left flank and teammates to his right to create a possible goalscoring chance. Before Montero could do anything, however, Elias committed a tactical foul to halt Ecuador's counter.

The Brazil midfielder earned a yellow for his troubles, but the price was well worth preventing Montero from continuing his run.

The second half largely mirrored the first, but both teams started fading the longer the match went on with relatively warm conditions in Pasadena. ESPN FC's Mike L. Goodman thought the slower pace benefited the Ecuadorians:

Ecuador did a great job of thwarting Brazil in the final third. According to OptaJavier, the Brazilians out-passed their opponents 647-271 and had 70 percent of possession over the course of the match. Still, Dunga's side was unable to capitalize on all of its time with the ball.

A 0-0 draw isn't the worst-case scenario for Brazil even after Peru beat Haiti 1-0 to go top of Group B. According to ESPN Stats & Info's Paul Carr, ESPN's Soccer Power Index gives the Brazilians an 85 percent chance of advancing to the knockout stages.

Anything less than the quarterfinals will be a disaster for Brazil. One of the biggest criticisms against Dunga during his first run as national team coach was the team's defensive style of play, and little has changed from the manager based on Saturday night.

It will be important for Brazil to beat Haiti in their second match on Wednesday, otherwise, Dunga's detractors will have even more ammunition.

Ecuador would've preferred a win, especially with the controversy around Bolanos' goal, but a draw is solid all the same. They get Peru next in what could be a tricky match.

Earning a win Wednesday would go a long way toward qualifying for the knockout round. Ecuador have Haiti in their final match, which should be a win. If they can collect four points through their first two fixtures, then they'll have one foot in the quarterfinals.

Post-Match Reaction

Philly.com's Jonathan Tannenwald translated Dunga's comments regarding Bolanos' would-be goal:

Ecuador coach Gustavo Quinteros offered a different opinion, per the Canadian Press (via TSN.com): "I saw it 25 times on video replay. The entire ball did not go out. About 75-80 percent of it went out."

For Dunga, drawing with Ecuador represented a positive result.

"We have to get better but watching the game we were only missing the score," he said, per the Associated Press (via the Daily Mail). "The way we played, being our first game and playing against a good team, was well."

Dunga also talked about his roster selection, and why the close of the European football season presents him with a problem.

"It's the end of the season for the players," he said. "They are very tired from their trips and there were a lot of injuries because of that. But players that are here are very motivated. We definitely believe in these players."