Tite’s side look to get their tournament off to a winning start as they take on huge underdogs Bolivia in the opening game of the Copa America
Copa America host nation Brazil are set to take on Bolivia in the competition’s opening match at the Cicero Pompeu de Toledo Stadium in Sao Paulo.
Brazil’s preparations for the tournament have been marred with controversy with Neymar being removed as captain after he punched a fan following Paris Saint-Germain’s Coupe de France final loss , and the 27-year-old was later ruled out for the summer when he suffered ankle ligament damage in a friendly against Qatar.
Bolivia, meanwhile, have lost their last three games and come into the game low on confidence.
| Game | Brazil vs Bolivia |
| Date | Friday, June 14 |
| Time | 1:30am BST / 8:30pm ET |
| Stream (US) | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United States (US), the game can be watched on Telemundo, ESPN+ and live and on-demand with fuboTV (7-day free trial) .
New users can sign up for a free seven-day trial of the live sports streaming service, which can be accessed via iOS, Android, Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV, Roku and Apple TV as well as on a web browser.
| US TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Telemundo / ESPN+ | fubo TV (7-day free trial) |
In the United Kingdom (UK), the game will be broadcast on Premier Sports 1 and can be streamed via Premier Player HD.
| UK TV channel | Online stream |
|---|---|
| Premier Sports 1 | Premier Player HD |
Brazil will line-up without Neymar yet again after the Paris Saint-Germain forward was ruled out for the duration of the Copa America with an ankle injury.
And Tite indicated after his side’s 7-0 thrashing of Honduras that Roberto Firmino and David Neres would likely start against Bolivia.
There were some concerns over Arthur when he was forced off with a knock on Sunday but Tite has since confirmed the midfielder did not suffer a serious injury.
Confirmed Brazil starting XI: Alisson; Dani Alves, Thiago Silva, Marquinhos, Filipe Luis; Fernandinho, Casemiro, Coutinho; Richarlison, Firmino, Neres.
| Position | Bolivia squad |
|---|---|
| Goalkeepers | Lampe, Cordano, Rojas |
| Defenders | M. Bejarano, D. Bejarano, Haquin, Jusino, Cuellar, Torres, Fernandez, Carrasco |
| Midfielders | Chumacero, Castro, Saavedra, Justiniano, Galindo, Saucedo, Wayar, Arano |
| Forwards | Martins, Alvarez, Ramollo, Vaca |
Bolivia head coach Eduardo Villegas has a full squad to pick from going into the tournament.
Confirmed Bolivia starting XI: Lampe, D. Bejarano, Haquin, Jusino, M. Bejarano, Chumacero, Justiniano, Saucedo, Saavedra, Castro, Moreno.
Brazil are unsurprisingly big favourites to win this match with Bet365 , priced 1/12. Bolivia can be backed at 22/1, while a draw is available at 9/1.
Click here to see all of bet 365’s offers for the game, including goalscoring markets, correct score predictions and more.
Despite Neymar missing out on the tournament, Brazil remain favourites to win the Copa America on their own turf.
Should they lift the trophy at the Rio de Janeiro final on July 7, it would be the first time the Selecao have won the competition since 2007, so they will eager to put that right this time around with Chile and Uruguay having picked up titles in the last 12 years.
While the absence of their talisman Neymar will be a huge loss for Tite’s side, they have a number of talented forwards among their ranks – as shown by the nine goals they netted in two June friendlies.
Premier League stars Richarlison and Gabriel Jesus got on the score sheet against in both games with Philippe Coutinho and David Neres finding the target against Honduras after the Ajax man replaced Neymar in Brazil’s line-up from the clash with Qatar.
And that talented front line is supported by a defence filled with experience, as the likes of Thiago Silva, Felipe Luis, Marquinhos and new captain Dani Alves all likely to have prominent roles in the back four.
Even with the injury to Neymar, Bolivia’s build-up to the Copa America has arguably been less smooth than Tite’s team’s preparations.
La Verde’s only warm-up game took place on a different continent to the tournament with Eduardo Villegas’ side losing 2-0 to France in Nantes on June 2.
Bolivia have the longest odds to win the tournament apart from Qatar, and their opening game is by far the toughest of their group on paper.
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Anything Villegas’ team take from the match would be a huge bonus as they look to make it through to the Copa America quarter-final stages for only the fourth time since 1967.