Brazil finally escaped the shackles on Wednesday night after a crushing 7-1 win over Haiti in the Copa America Centenario in Orlando.
Liverpool star Philippe Coutinho was the star of the show for the five-time World Champions. The 23-year-old scored the first international hat-trick of his career, against the Caribbean side.
Coutinho opened the scoring inside the first 15 minutes of the game, with a stunning strike from outside the box.
He made it 2-0 inside half and hour after the Haitian defence was split open from a Dani Alves run down the right wing and cross in the six-yard box. Benfica striker Jonas. laid the ball off for Coutinho to tap home.
It took until added-time for Coutinho to get the hat-trick goal. A poor clearance from Haiti goalkeeper Johnny Placide, was eventually given to the Brazilian number 22, who scored his second goal of the game from outside the box. It was a goal worthy of a hat-trick.
Brazil's other four goals were scored by Bayern Munich's Renato Augusto (x2), Gabriel and Lucas Lima. James Marcelin scored a consolation for Haiti when they were losing 5-0.
A winner-take-all Group B game between Brazil and Peru takes place in Boston on Monday morning. A draw should be good enough for both teams to advance.
The winners of Group B look likely to meet hosts USA or Paraguay in the quarter-finals.
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