Lucas admits Brazil face uphill task

Brazil's Lucas Leiva admits it will be difficult for the Copa America favourites to win the tournament.

The defensive midfielder, who plies his trade in the Barclays Premier League with Liverpool, admits his side face an uphill struggle after drawing their first two games against Venezuela and Paraguay, who they were expected to comfortably beat.
The two stalemates now see Brazil lie behind Venezuela and Paraguay in Group B, and while they can still qualify as one of two best-placed teams finishing third, they could find themselves pitted against a formidable opponent in the quarter-finals if they fail to claim top spot.
"We shall have to improve otherwise things are going to be very difficult," Lucas said, according to Liverpool's official website. "We recognise that."
Lucas also lamented on how Brazil let their lead slip against Paraguay, and needed an 89th minute equaliser by Fred to salvage a point on Saturday.
"We did all we could to win and then we made two mistakes which led to Paraguay' goals."
Lucas and his team-mates next take on bottom-placed Ecuador on Wednesday, who also still have a chance to make the quarter-finals, although against a desperate Brazil, the odds are firmly stacked against the Ecuadorians.