With one match to play Mexico lead Group B with six points, followed by Brazil and Chile on three, while Ecuador are virtually out of the running after two defeats.
Robinho was the star of the show at the 52,000-capacity Monumental stadium, which was ruled fit to stage the games even though it was clearly not ready after being built from scratch in less than a year.
Brazil got off the mark through a controversial penalty in the 36th minute when Carlos Torres, Paraguayan referee, awarded the spot kick for pushing before Robinho calmly scored with a low shot amid Chilean protests.
Chile only had themselves to blame however, after blowing several chances to equalise after halftime before Robinho added two more goals to complete his hat-trick in the last 10 minutes.
The 23-year-old latched on to Vagner Love's pass and chipped the ball over Claudio Bravo in the 84th minute and was then on target after a dazzling 40-metre run three minutes later.
Nelson Acosta, Chile coach, whose team have conceded 12 goals and scored none in their last three meetings with Brazil, was unimpressed at the ease of Robinho's late goals.
"He scored at the end of the match when our defence was completely open," said Acosta.
"It's very easy to score when your opponents are tired and chasing the game."
Ecuador's failure
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Mexican forward Nery Castillo was pleased to
score his second goal in two matches [AFP] |
In the second match on Sunday, Castillo took advantage of hesitation in the Ecuador defence to slot the ball home after a Rafael Marquez pass in the 22nd minute.
Two Mexican substitutes combined to produce the second in the 80th minute when striker Cuauhtemoc Blanco floated over a superb cross from the right wing for Omar Bravo to execute an excellent diving header to make it 2-0.
A demoralised Ecuador, who lost their opening math 3-2 against Chile after leading twice, gave themselves a glimmer of hope with a deflected strike from more than 20 metres out by Edison Mendez.
"Yes, it's a failure and I'm not thinking of resigning for the moment," Luis Fernando Suarez, Ecuador coach, said.
Stadium and ticketing farce
Ecuador's tournament may be a failure, but questions were also being raised of Venezuela's preparation for the tournament with the state of the Monumental stadium and the ticketing process bordering on farcical.
The area around the arena was a sea of mud strewn with building materials and piles of debris, while inside, dust covered the seats and more debris was piled into corners of the stadium.
The competition's ticketing crisis continued, leading to queues of several hundred metres built up under a baking tropical sun, while many fans who had booked tickets online and by telephone had not received them, even though their credit cards had been debited.