Brazil couldn’t break through in their Copa America opener, and Costa Rica now have an opportunity to make Group D very interesting. Check out the best facts, stats and live Opta data with our Brazil vs Costa Rica stats page.
Brazil began their Copa America campaign with a frustrating goalless draw against Costa Rica at the SoFi Stadium.
The Seleção dominated large periods of the Group D clash. Marquinhos saw a goal ruled out following a VAR review, while Lucas Paquetá rattled the woodwork from distance.
Yet despite enjoying just under three-quarters of the possession and registering 19 shots to their opponents’ two, they couldn’t find the breakthrough and failed to win their opening match in the competition for the first time since 2016.
Dorival Júnior’s side subsequently lost early ground on Group D leaders Colombia, who beat Paraguay 2-1 earlier in the day, and their chances of topping the group dropped from a pre-match likelihood of 60.9% to 43.9%:
Brazil quickly asserted their authority on proceedings in California as they sought the game’s opening goal. Rodrygo steered a shot wide following a run into the penalty area, while Raphinha was denied by Patrick Sequeira after latching onto a diagonal ball over the top of the Costa Rica defence.
The Seleção thought they had broken the deadlock on the half-hour mark when Marquinhos applied the finishing touch after Rodrygo glanced Raphinha’s free-kick towards the far post, only for the strike to be ruled out for offside following a VAR review.
Rodrygo fired narrowly over in first-half stoppage time and, then on 63 minutes, Paquetá saw his ferocious 25-yard drive crash against Sequeira’s left upright.
Dorival withdrew the quiet Vinícius Júnior in favour of Endrick and Savinho for the final 20 minutes, and both looked dangerous upon their introductions.
The latter’s cross almost saw Costa Rica defender Haxzel Quirós head into his own net with his blushes spared by Sequeira, who then beat away Guilherme Arana’s fierce volley.
Savinho was involved again in stoppage time as he teed up one final opportunity for Bruno Guimarães, who bent his first-time shot narrowly wide to compound a frustrating start to the tournament for the nine-time winners.
Seleção Stutter on Return to States
It is fair to say Brazil do not boost particularly fond recent memories of playing in the United States in recent years. After all, the Seleção crashed out in the group stages when the Copa America was last held in this nation eight years ago.
Neymar, who was part of that side, watched on from the stands having been ruled out of this tournament through injury.
Try as they may, his teammates just could not break down their opponents and turn their dominance into the elusive goal, with just three of their 19 attempts on target.
Fresh from playing a starring role in Real Madrid’s La Liga and Champions League double, Vinícius Júnior was unable to inspire his nation – his tallies of 45 touches and 23 passes were the lowest recorded by any of Brazil’s outfield starters.
On a brighter note, Marquinhos made his 16th Copa America appearance – with only Dani Alves (19) and Thiago Silva (18) playing more times for the Seleção in the competition since 2000 – though a VAR review prevented him from marking the occasion with a goal.
Another Clean Sheet for Repellent Costa Rica
Costa Rica were heavy underdogs on their return to the Copa America for the first time in eight years. Not since 2004 have Los Ticos progressed from the group stages of this competition, but they certainly know what it takes to earn a point – or three – on the big stage.
Exactly 10 years ago, they beat Uruguay and Italy to top Group D, which also featured England, on the way to reaching the World Cup quarter-finals.
Fast forward a decade and Joel Campbell, who was part of that side, came off the bench for his 140th cap as his nation halted a run of nine successive defeats by Brazil.
More impressively, Costa Rica have kept clean sheets in each of their last four competitive games.
Their failure to record a single shot on target for the first time in a Copa America match since 2011 will be a slight concern, but that defensive stubbornness will stand them in good stead as they look to progress in this tournament.
Our Opta match centre delivers you all the Brazil vs Costa Rica stats from their Copa America 2024 Group D clash at SoFi Stadium.
The match centre below includes team and player stats, expected goals data, passing networks, an Opta chalkboard and more. It gives you everything you need to do your own post-match analysis.
Underneath the match centre you can find the official Opta stats on the game as well.
Brazil vs Costa Rica: Post-Match Facts
- Costa Rica is the third CONCACAF team to keep a clean sheet against Brazil in a CONMEBOL Copa America match, following Mexico (2001 and 2007) and Honduras (2001).
- Brazil made 49 entries into the opponent’s penalty area against Costa Rica, the highest number for the Canarinha in a CONMEBOL Copa America match since such data began being recorded in 2011, equaling their performance against Paraguay in 2019. Rodrygo contributed 12 of those 49 entries (a number he shares with Gabriel Jesus, Everton, Firmino, and Richarlison), surpassed only by Neymar’s 15 against Peru in 2021.
- Brazil did not concede any shots in the first half of a CONMEBOL Copa America match for the second time since data recording began in 2011, a feat they also achieved against Peru in 2016.
- Vinícius Júnior has been substituted in Brazil’s last six competitive matches: this Monday against Costa Rica, three World Cup qualifiers in 2023, and the round of 16 and quarter-finals in the 2022 World Cup.
- Brazil has not conceded a goal in their opening match in the last four CONMEBOL Copa America tournaments: 0-0 against Ecuador in 2016, 3-0 against Bolivia in 2019, 3-0 against Venezuela in 2021, and 0-0 against Costa Rica in 2024. The Brazilian team has not lost the opening match of a new edition of the competition since 2007 (0-2 against Mexico).
- Guilherme Arana, who plays for Atlético Mineiro, is the first footballer from a South American team to start in Brazil’s opening match in a CONMEBOL Copa America or FIFA World Cup since 2016, when Elias (Corinthians) and Alisson Becker (Internacional) played the opener against Ecuador.
- Jeyland Mitchell (19 years and 270 days old) is the youngest player to start for a Concacaf team in the CONMEBOL Copa America since Joel Campbell, also a member of the current Costa Rica squad, who did so in 2011 against Argentina at 19 years and 15 days old.
- Joel Campbell played his seventh CONMEBOL Copa America match in his career, the most for any player in the current Costa Rican squad.
Enjoy this? Subscribe to our football newsletter to receive exclusive weekly content. You should also follow our social accounts over on X, Instagram, TikTok and Facebook.