The Brazilian football team at all major tournaments is rightfully considered one of the favorites in every match. So it was before the first meeting of the five-time world champions at the Copa America 2016. The Brazilians' rivals were footballers from Ecuador.
The final result of the match turned out to be unpredictable for the majority of football fans. Despite the favoritism of the Brazilians, from the very first minutes of the meeting, the Ecuadorian footballers were able to oppose decent football to the Pentacamps. The entire first half was played in an equal fight. The teams tried to respond with attack to attack, although the players did not create dangerous and really scoring chances at the rivals' goal.
In the first forty-five minutes, the Brazilians struck only four shots on goal, of which only one hit the target. It was struck by Filipe Coutinier in the sixth minute. For the first half of the meeting, Ecuadorians responded with only two strikes, while the Brazilian goalkeeper came into play only after Ener Valencia hit from a free kick on 37 minutes. The first half ended in a goalless draw.
The second half of the meeting was marked by a very controversial decision of the side referee, which influenced the final result of the match. In the 66th minute, the Ecuadorian players carried out an exemplary attack, after which Montero shot from the left flank into the penalty area. The ball slid over the hands of the Brazilian goalkeeper and rolled into the goal. The curiosity of the episode did not affect the sincere joy of the Ecuadorians, but the goal was canceled. Judging by the repetitions of the episode, the side referee erroneously determined that the ball was behind the goal line at the time of Montero's cross. The score remained unchanged - 0: 0.
Until the final whistle, the numbers on the scoreboard did not change, although the Brazilian striker Lucas in the 84th minute could not realize the scoring chance. The forward failed to head the ball into the empty corner of the goal.
According to the results of the meeting, the teams scored one point, but after the match the coaching staff and the Ecuadorian footballers complained that the goal was taken away from the team. At the same time, the accusations against the arbitrators in the interpretation of the episode at the 66th minute are not unfounded.
