Brazil crashed out of the Copa America on Sunday after a 1-0 loss against Peru.

The team continued its torrid time in the country's soccer history, getting knocked out of a major tournament well before it was supposed to. IN 2014, the 7-1 loss in the semifinal against Germany was a major shocker and last year's quarterfinals lost against Paraguay was just another slap in the face.

This group stage exit represented the first time since 1987, the only other time the team failed to get out of the first round in a major tournament. In World Cup history, Brazil has only faltered at the first hurdle twice, making this 2016 group an ignominious bunch.

The Peru loss hurt all the more because it was a controversial one with the winning goal likely a handball.

And yet the Brazilians did not really lose that game on Sunday; they lost it well before it even started. Here are a few reasons why Brazil deserved its Copa America debacle.

1. Leaving Neymar At Home

Let's address the elephant in the room. Leaving Neymar at home to play the Olympics essentially established the team's statement of intent - this was not a vital tournament for them. If Brazil had brought its talisman to this tournament instead of the Olympics, then it would have shown that this Brazilian squad was looking to win it all with one of the top stars in the game. Argentina brought Messi and its top stars to this event, as did the other major teams in competition. Home field in the Olympics obviously plays a role, but it also signaled to fans where the importance lay. On the pitch, leaving Neymar left a gaping attacking hole for the team that no one could fill in two of the three games.

2. No major star to step up.

Every South American star has a major star. Colombia has James Rodriguez, Argentina has Lionel Messi among others, Chile has Alexis Sanchez and Arturo Vidal, Uruguay has Luis Suarez, Ecuador has Jefferson Montero... The list goes on and on. A star player gives a team a point of reference and a leader to follow. Brazil has a ton of stars besides Neymar, including Douglas Costa (out injured), Marcelo (not called up), Hulk, Willian and Phillipe Coutinho. The latter was expected to be the star man of this team. For one game he was just that, but he failed to inspire the team the rest of the time. No one else seemed interested in filling the boots and the team simply fell apart. Without major leadership, Brazil fell apart.

3. Injuries.

Not everything was on Brazil's team and coaches. Losing Douglas Costa on the eve of the tournament and then his replacement Kaka gutted this team of some major offensive depth, leaving the attackers without an overall sense of cohesion.

4. Poor tactics

Brazil will never be an attacking dynamo under Dunga. He plays a pragmatic style that keeps his creative players in check, forcing them to overthink and never freely express themselves. Brazilian stars of the past were given free reign to use their creativity but Dunga simply has no pulse on this. Moreover, the team's attack is rather one-dimensional with all play funneled to the wings. This gives opposing defenses an easy way to shut them down.

5. Karma.

Brazil got lucky when the goal for Ecuador was ruled out of bounds, but it really should have been a goal. That secured one point for Brazil instead of zero. With that loss, Brazil would have entered its final against Peru without a chance to advance. The team wound up getting its comeuppance either way.

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