Coutinho has hat trick as Brazil bounces back

Philippe Coutinho scored his first international hat trick, Renato Augusto had two goals and Brazil routed Haiti, 7-1, Wednesday night at Orlando, Fla.

Coutinho scored in the 14th and 29th minutes to build a 2-0 lead, then added a goal on a 20-yard drive in the second minute of second-half stoppage time. The Liverpool midfielder’s only previous goal for Brazil was against Mexico in an exhibition last year.

Gabriel Barbosa and Lucas Lima also scored for the Brazilians in a score that matched their devastating defeat in the 2014 World Cup semifinals against Germany at Belo Horizonte.

“We have been encouraging Coutinho during training to be the player he is in Liverpool, take advantage of his opportunities and he did that for us,” Brazil Coach Dunga said. “He has been acquiring more trust and belief in himself and taking more risks. That is what we wanted.”

James Marcelin scored Haiti’s goal in the 69th minute.

Because of goal differential, Brazil leads Group B with four points and completes group play Sunday against Peru, which also has four points after a 2-2 tie with Ecuador.

Peru 2, Ecuador 2: Miller Bolanos scored the lone second-half goal and Ecuador rallied from a two-goal deficit for the tie at Glendale, Ariz.

In the first half, Paolo Guerrero had two assists in the first 13 minutes for Peru. He played a through ball to Christian Cueva for a goal, then Guerrero had a glancing header on a long free kick and Edison Flores rolled a shot inside the far post.