After giving up a heartbreaking goal in the 60th minute of their first-ever Copa America match, Haiti fell to Peru 1-0 last Saturday. Sporting KCās Soni Mustivar did not feature. Today, Haiti aims to overcome powerhouse Brazil to maintain a chance at advancing beyond the group stage of the tournament. The Group B matchup will air at 6:30 p.m. CT on FS1 and Univision.
Itās no secret that Haiti enters tonightās match as the underdogs, with the Caribbean team ranked 74th compared to Brazilās 7th. And Brazil is no stranger to the tournament, having participated since its inception in 1916, while the 2016 Centenario marks the first time Haiti has qualified for the competition in its history.
Whatās more, the teams have a lopsided history in favor of Brazil. Though theyāve only gone head-to-head twice in the past, Brazil claims a 10-0 combined lead over the Group B last place nation in those two competitions, with Haiti most recently falling 6-0 in 2004.
But Brazilās successful past against Haiti hasnāt gone to the Copa veteransā heads. In a recent interview with Major League Soccer, Brazilian defender Marquinhos warned against underestimating an opponent.
āWe need to have our feet on the ground [versus Haiti],ā explained the right back. āWe need to respect our opponent and know that nothing is given to us just because we are the SeleĆ§Ć£o. We need to perform and we need to earn all the points we get.ā
āThere are no such things as an āeasy gameā in the Copa America,ā continued Marquinhos. āWe are focused on getting a positive result versus a Haiti team that played very well versus Peru.ā
GROUP B STANDINGS
<strong>Team</strong> |
<strong>Points</strong> |
<strong>W-L-T</strong> |
<strong>GF / GA</strong> |
Peru |
3 |
1-0-0 |
1 / 0 |
Brazil |
1 |
0-0-1 |
0 / 0 |
Ecuador |
1 |
0-0-1 |
0 / 0 |
Haiti |
0 |
0-1-0 |
0 / 1 |