OMNISPORT 

Just minutes after Brazil's fairly uninspiring scoreless draw with Ecuador in their Copa America Centenario opener on Saturday, Renato Augusto spelled out what should be a reasonably straightforward challenge for the five-times World Champions.

"We need to beat Haiti and then play Peru," he said.

Thanks to Peru's 1-0 victory against Haiti on Saturday, the Selecao have ground to make up in Group B.

Putting the focus on the next game is the usual get out of jail free card played by footballers after they or their teams have underperformed. In an age of media training, players can limp through months of a season by insisting they will put their problems behind them and look ahead to the next test. Rinse and repeat.

You get the feeling Brazil's summer will follow this pattern. On Saturday, coach Dunga said there were still things to "fix" in the very last training session before their opening clash. Cutting it a bit fine, it seemed. Afterwards, with little sign of improvement, Renato Augusto picked up the baton. "We have things to improve, to fix, and we're already focusing on the next game."

When can things be expected get better? "Training a lot does no good," Dunga said on Tuesday, not giving the impression he is nearing a breakthrough. "Training with quality is what's important. We are at the end of the season, we have to have to be very careful." He also explained that the flights across the U.S., and the time differences involved, have robbed the players of recovery time. "But the players are training and I am certain that the team is going to grow as the tournament progresses."

While that seems like wishful thinking, given the lack of any real progress during Dunga's two years in charge, given it is Haiti up next there may not be a need for a drastic upturn in fortunes. Patrice Neveu's men are a defensive outfit but looked overawed by Peru's fast start in their first game of the Copa. Brazil, to its credit, did start brightly against Ecuador before fading, and if it imposes itself early in Orlando it could pull away and secure a victory that would give the team a foothold in Group B.

The Brazilians are sure to be roared on by the not insignificant amount of Brazilian ex-pats in Florida, too: a much-needed boost at just the right time.

"Of course, it gives us great satisfaction to play where there's a large community of Brazilians," Dunga continued. "We want to give them a good performance."

Those performances, though, have been in short supply. Since beginning their World Cup qualifying campaign with defeat to Chile, Brazil has drawn four and won three of their last seven matches, including a labored 2-0 friendly victory against Panama on the eve of the Copa.

Dunga did deploy Renato Augusto as his deepest-lying midfielder against Panama, a sign that he is willing to play with a little more flair, at least against the smaller nations. The forward-thinking, inventive Beijing Guoan player is one of the few Brazilian exports to China to still earn a call-up to the current squad, and with Casemiro behind him against Ecuador he was one of the brightest players on the pitch, setting up two chances for his team-mates.

But he, like his colleagues, could not quite come up with the goods. Philippe Coutinho started brightly but ended up on the periphery, Willian picked up an ankle knock and eventually departed, and Jonas up front often looked isolated. Dunga turned to two of his brightest emerging talents to make a difference late in the saecond half, but neither Gabigol nor Lucas Lima, who have both enjoyed fine domestic seasons with Santos and only recently broken into the international fold, could fashion an opening.

And had the referee's assistant not ruled that the ball had already gone out of play, Brazil would have lost thanks to goalkeeper Alisson's horrendous near-post fumble.

All of that, plus a coast-to-coast flight, mean Brazil is hardly heading into its next game in ideal circumstances. The Brazilians may well get a victory regardless against limited opposition and in front of a partisan crowd, but the improvement they so crave may have to wait for another day. Whatever happens, at least they will be able to focus on the next game.