VAR penalty, Coutinho brace help Brazil win Copa opener

Philippe Coutinho scored a second half double and Everton added a cracking third as Brazil recovered from a sleepy start to beat Bolivia 3-0 in their Copa America opener on Friday.

Both sides were poor in the first period but the game briefly came alive five minutes into the second half when Coutinho slotted home a VAR-assisted penalty.

Coutinho grabbed a second with a close-range header three minutes later before Everton rifled home a third from outside the box with five minutes remaining.

The match was the first of this year’s tournament, which is being held in Brazil for the first time since 1989. All 10 South American teams are participating along with guest nations Qatar and Japan.