Brazil coach Tite admitted his team performed poorly as they were unexpectedly held to a 1-1 draw by Panama in a friendly in Porto.
Lucas Paqueta was given Neymar’s number 10 shirt while the injured Paris St Germain forward watched from the stands and marked his full debut with a goal in the 32nd minute.
But Adolfo Machado headed in an equaliser just four minutes later and, despite hitting the woodwork twice in the second half, Brazil could not find a winner.
Tite said in O Dia: “It was a poor performance in the first half, below the expectations.
“The second half was normal, with some adjustments we made, we played with four at the front, we reorganised. But the first half was poor and the result was bad.”
Brazil had won their previous six matches since last year’s World Cup and will continue their build-up to the summer’s Copa America against the Czech Republic on Tuesday.
Tite said: “When we go to the Copa America, we will make the right choices to perform better. My expectation was to be more creative.”
Panama had failed to score in three previous defeats against Brazil and this marked one of the most famous results in their history.
Coach Julio Dely Valdes said in La Prensa: “We have suffered since the first minute. The players filled expectations. Today has been a good result.”
