Arturo Vidal believes Chile are a team to be feared at the Copa America as his country look to rebound from not qualifying for last summer’s World Cup.

Chile have won the last two Copa Americas, in 2015 and 2016 beating Argentina on penalties each time, but the country’s ‘golden generation’ fell from grace when they failed to reach the sports marquee international tournament in 2018.

The squad has seen some serious overhaul since then with the 32-year-old Vidal now one of the oldest players in the 23 selected for the tournament, taking place in Brazil.

Despite that setback Vidal thinks Chile have what it takes to make an impression in this summer’s competition ahead of their first game with invitees Japan on June 17.

“This squad should be feared, from the beginning to the final,” the Barcelona midfielder told press from the team hotel in Sao Paolo.

“We hope it’s going to be something amazing, but we’re going to take it game by game.

“Everything is starting from new: a new process, new players, new coaches.

“It took us many days to talk about and clear up things.”

Japan have brought an inexperienced squad to South America, with 17 members yet to make their international debuts.

One player who has appeared for Japan is new Real Madrid signing Takefusa Kubo, dubbed ‘The Japanese Messi.’

Vidal asserted that his team were prepared for the challenges Kubo and his team would offer.

“[Kubo] is a player with real quality, there’s a reason he’s at Real Madrid,” the ex-Juventus and Bayern Munich man continued.

“We’ve seen him, analyzed him really well and we know how to stop this player.”

“Japan are an organized team, they’re quick and we have to be careful, concentrate and when they come out to play we have to attack them really quickly because afterward they go into a 4-5-1 and it’s really hard to score a goal.”

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After the game with Japan, Chile go on to play Ecuador on June 21.

Vidal’s nation conclude their Group C schedule with a game against Uruguay on June 24.

Chile have only won one of their three games in 2019, a 2-1 win over Haiti on June 6. They lost 3-1 to Mexico and drew 1-1 with the USA in March.

Philippe Coutinho scored a brace as Brazil opened the Copa America with a 3-0 win over Bolivia in Sao Paulo.

After an underwhelming first half at Estadio do Morumbi, Coutinho scored twice within eight minutes of the restart to put Brazil in control on Friday.

A VAR check and handball led Coutinho to the penalty spot and the Barcelona star made no mistake in the 50th minute before making it 2-0 three minutes later after capping a sweeping move.

Everton came off the bench and scored the goal of the night with a blistering effort from outside the area in the 84th minute as the Selecao – who have won the Copa on each of the previous four occasions they have hosted in 1919, 1922, 1949 and 1989 – made a winning start in Group A.

Playing without superstar Neymar after he was ruled out of the tournament with an ankle injury, 2018 World Cup quarter-finalists Brazil dominated but struggled to create any real clear-cut chances.

Thiago Silva saw a header flash wide of the post and Casemiro came close with an audacious effort for Brazil, who had 77 per cent of the possession in the opening 45 minutes.

The half-time whistle was met by a chorus of boos around the stadium amid a subdued atmosphere as Brazil failed to impress against Bolivia – a nation in which they had won nine and drawn two of the past 11 games on home soil, scoring 46 goals and conceding just four times.

But a VAR check helped ease some of the tension and pressure with the ground after Adrian Jusino was adjudged to have handled the ball inside the penalty area.

Coutinho successfully converted the spot-kick before he completed a quick-fire double after latching on to Roberto Firmino’s cross at the back post.

The result was never in doubt from that point as Brazil turned the boos into cheers in the south-west of Sao Paulo, where substitute Everton scored a stunning long-range goal with six minutes remaining.

What does it mean? Brazil up and running with 100th win

Seeking a ninth Copa title and first since 2007, Tite’s Brazil got the job done in Friday’s curtain-raiser. It was not perfect but the Selecao managed to claim their 100th Copa victory.

Coutinho takes centre stage

The Barcelona attacker struggled at Camp Nou in 2018-19, leading to speculation of a possible return to the Premier League via Chelsea or Manchester United. Coutinho, however, stepped up when Brazil needed him most with his first international brace since scoring a hat-trick against Haiti at the Copa America Centenario.

Improvement needed by Brazil

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If the half-time boos were any indication, Brazil did not meet expectations prior to the break. Richarlison and Roberto Firmino were virtually non-existent in the first half, while Coutinho and David Neres struggled to make an impact. The Selecao did beat Bolivia but they will be punished against better opposition if they do not improve.

What’s next?

Brazil will look to make it two wins from two against Venezuela on Tuesday, while Bolivia face Peru on the same day.