Brazil began their Copa America campaign with a frustrating goalless draw against Costa Rica at the SoFi Stadium.
The Selecao dominated large periods of the Group D clash. Marquinhos saw a goal ruled out following a VAR review, while Lucas Paqueta rattled the woodwork from distance.
Yet despite enjoying just under three-quarters of the possession and registering 19 shots to their opponents' two, they could not find the breakthrough and failed to win their opening match in the competition for the first time since 2016.
Dorival Junior's side subsequently lost early ground on Group D leaders Colombia, who beat Paraguay 2-1 earlier in the day.
Brazil quickly asserted their authority on proceedings in California as they sought the game's opening goal.
Rodrygo steered a shot wide following a jinking 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 Selecao 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, Lucas Paqueta saw his ferocious 25-yard drive crash against Sequeira's left upright.
Dorival withdrew the quiet Vinicius Junior 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 Quiros 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 Guimaraes, who bent his first-time shot narrowly wide to compound a frustrating start to the tournament for the nine-time winners.
Selecao 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 Selecao 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 team-mates 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 LaLiga and Champions League double, Vinicius Junior 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 Selecao 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 claim a scalp 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.
Teamwork key to success against England, says Skriniar
Slovakia captain Milan Skriniar highlighted teamwork as the key to success against England ahead of their last-16 meeting with the Three Lions on Sunday.
England finished top of Group C with five points following underwhelming performances against Denmark and Slovenia as they limped into the last-16.
Meanwhile, Slovakia progressed as one of the best third-placed teams after drawing with Romania on Matchday 3, setting up a second meeting in a major tournament against England in Gelsenkirchen.
Skriniar accepts that Gareth Southgate's side have more individual talent within their ranks but believes his team can pull off a shock by working together as a collective.
"In my opinion, they rely on individual quality and they know that they have players who can decide matches for them," Skriniar said. "That's why I think we can handle them through teamwork."
Following the full-time whistle in Cologne, Southgate and his players were greeted with boos from the travelling England support.
It brings increasing pressure onto the shoulders of the Three Lions head coach and his players, something Skriniar believes has already affected them in Germany.
"Even in the first match (a 1-0 win for England over Serbia), they went in with the fact that they are England, and they have to manage things in terms of results.
"The media and fans (have been critical) after their matches, so they will be under much more pressure than us. It can work in our favour."
Having said that, the Paris Saint-Germain defender insists his side will not just sit back and will aim to take the game to England.
"The defensive phase will definitely be important, we have to start defending from the attackers. But the key is to play football," Skriniar said.
"We have to show them that we can play. Let them know that they are up against a team that knows what it wants."
Van Dijk: Netherlands overestimated themselves ahead of Euro 2024
Virgil van Dijk believes the Netherlands may have overestimated their qualities ahead of Euro 2024, having scraped through Group D in third behind Austria and France.
A 3-2 defeat to Austria in their final group game saw Ronald Koeman's Oranje pass up the opportunity to top a difficult pool and instead finish as one of the tournament's best third-placed teams.
That could end up benefitting the side as they have landed on the opposite side of the draw to Germany, Spain, Portugal, France and Belgium.
The Oranje were given a 5.1% chance of winning the tournament by the Opta supercomputer before a ball was kicked, but their hopes are now estimated at 7% ahead of their last-16 tie with Romania.
The team's performances have been fiercely criticised by the Dutch media, and Van Dijk says internal expectations may have been too high.
"Maybe we overestimate ourselves," Van Dijk told reporters on Friday. "A lot had to be said and we had to analyse a lot.
"Things went completely wrong against Austria. It was very bad. We have talked about many aspects, now we have to show it.
"It was not the tactics where things went wrong. It was mainly the will to win, to win that second ball.
"You don't have to talk about that with the coaches, the players must do that among themselves. So, we have talked about that, with harsh words."
Van Dijk's own performance was criticised following the Austria defeat, and the Liverpool man knows more will be required as the tournament progresses.
"I can completely understand the criticism," he said. "I'm not stupid, I also know that I can do better and that it should be better, and that's what I'm working on.
"I didn't play my best game against Austria. It does affect me, I also think that things overall can and should be better. The whole team didn't run, but I look first at myself. I could have brought much more."
Argentina v Peru: Scaloni to let youth take centre stage in final Group A game
Argentina's younger players are set to be given the opportunity to shine in their Copa America group meeting with Peru.
Reigning champions Argentina secured their spot in the quarter-finals of the competition following their 1-0 win over Chile on Wednesday.
It offers the opportunity for Lionel Scaloni to experiment with his side, and he is hopeful Argentina's youngsters can seize the moment against La Blanquirroja.
"We are satisfied, and we can enjoy the days, and give the youngest ones minutes," Scaloni said.
"I think it's fair to have the players that did not have minutes get onto the pitch."
"Hopefully when we give them (young players) the opportunity, they will be able to seize it."
La Albiceleste, however, will be without captain Lionel Messi, who will be rested for the knockout stages of the competition after missing training on Thursday.
"I felt some discomfort in my right hamstring at the beginning of the game," Messi said after the win over Chile.
"In the first play, my adductor got hard. I didn't feel a tear, but I did find it difficult to move freely.
"It wasn't as loose as it should've been. But I was able to finish the game. We'll see how it goes."
Peru, meanwhile, know they must earn a first victory over their opponents since June 1997, a 2-1 win at the Copa America to progress to the quarter-finals.
They have picked up just one point from their opening two group games, losing late on to Canada last time out thanks to Jonathan David's winner.
Jorge Fossati's side are now winless in their last five games at the tournament, their longest winless streak in the competition (since at least 1993) and face an enormous task against the current world champions.
PLAYERS TO WATCH
Argentina - Nicolas Gonzalez
Having watched Argentina's opening game triumph over Canada from the bench, Gonzalez was brought into the side to face Chile, and his influence on proceedings was evident.
Gonzalez had the most touches in the opposition box (10), shots on target (two) and second-most shots (three), only bettered by Alexis Mac Allister and Rodrigo De Paul (both four).
The Fiorentina winger has been involved in more attacking sequences per 90 than any other player to have played a minimum of 45 minutes in the tournament, giving Scaloni food for thought with his team selection on Sunday.
Peru - Gianluca Lapadula
Peru are one of only five sides yet to open their account at the Copa America this year following their goalless draw with Chile and 1-0 defeat to Canada.
Their last international goal came in a pre-tournament friendly against El Salvador, but Lapadula showed promising signs against Canada that a goal was forthcoming.
Lapadula registered the most shots (four) and touches in the opposition box (three) of any player in the Peru squad, and will want to add to his 10 international goals.
MATCH PREDICTION: ARGENTINA WIN
The Opta supercomputer is heavily backing Argentina to stay perfect at the 2024 Copa America. They won 75.8% of the pre-match simulations, while Chile won just 10.2%.
This will be Argentina's 13th meeting with Peru at the tournament, with La Albiceleste recording a win and a clean sheet in their last two meetings at the Copa America (1-0 in 2004, 4-0 in 2007).
Should they emerge victorious, Argentina will have three consecutive wins against Peru in the competition for the first time since between 1927-1947 (W7).
A win will see them triumph in all of their group games for the third time this century. However, they will be hoping to rewrite history having finished runners-up in the two previous instances in which they achieved a 100% win rate in the group stage (2016 and 2007).
Peru, meanwhile, will be looking to remain in the tournament. A defeat will see them eliminated from the competition without a win for the first time since 1995, when they recorded two losses (v Brazil and Ecuador) and one draw (v Colombia) in the group stage.
OPTA WIN PROBABILITY
Argentina - 75.8%
Draw - 14%
Peru - 10.2%
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