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World Cup favorites Brazil, thanks to European lessons and attacking talent

2022-11-16 17:37:57Sport SHKRUAR NGA SIMON KUPER
World Cup favorites Brazil, thanks to European lessons and attacking talent
World Cup favorites Brazil, thanks to European lessons and attacking talent

Over half an hour in Belo Horizonte in 2014, Brazil touched down.

During the World Cup semi-final against Germany, Brazil's defence, without its controller Thiago Silva, was everywhere - except in front of its own goal.

David Luiz and Marcelo kept running forward at all the wrong times. A large space in front of the central defense was occupied only by the pressure of the Germans, who won ball after ball and entered the penalty area of ​​Brazil.

After 29 minutes, the Germans were 5-0 ahead, although in the packed bars on Avenida Paulista in São Paulo, the Brazilians continued to laugh in disbelief.

Brazil's weakness against organized and high-pressing European teams was structural.

World Cup favorites Brazil, thanks to European lessons and attacking talent
The 7-1 final score was one, but Brazil's weakness against organized and high-pressing European teams was structural.

Brazil was knocked out of four World Cups from 2006 to 2018 by another Western European country. The "divine canary", a nickname given by a Dutch writer to the great Brazilian teams from the players' yellow jerseys, was thought to be extinct.

But now, finally, the Seleção seems to have achieved something.

They are organized and have been lucky with a flood of attacking talent.

Their playmaker Neymar, entering his third World Cup, says this is the best Brazil he has played for. The team is the bookies' favorite. However, the five-time World Cup winners still remain a team to beat.

Under Tite, Brazil's coach for the past six years, a lifetime in the job, they quickly regained excellence. They could have won the last World Cup if Fernandinho's strange own goal and Thibaut Courtois' equally strange goalkeeping brilliance had not given Belgium the quarter-finals.

In South America's World Cup qualifiers for Qatar, Brazil collected 45 points, two more than Argentina's 20-year-old record, despite their final game against the Argentines being cancelled.

Watching the team's last pre-World Cup friendly, which was a 5-1 hammering of Tunisia in Paris in September, I sometimes feel like I'm watching the best of Brazil mixed with the best of Bayern Munich.

There was Brazilian touch and short passing, coupled with almost German-level high pressure to win the ball back, and when needed, quick forward passes to the speedy strikers.

Brazil has improved the most up front. Such are Tite's attacking assets that the nine strikers he is taking to Qatar do not include Liverpool's Roberto Firmino.

The likes of Real Madrid's Vinícius "Vini" Junior and Rodrygo, Barcelona's Raphinha, Arsenal's Gabriel Jesus and Spurs' Richarlison have mastered the tactics of the greats at Europe's top clubs, but also have the creativity to create their own chances.

World Cup favorites Brazil, thanks to European lessons and attacking talent
"One day Neymar said to me: 'Coach, these kids who are coming are just crazy. It's a good headache to have, trying to get everyone on the field.

Tite recently told Reuters: “One day Neymar said to me: 'Coach, these kids who are coming are just crazy. It's a good headache to have, trying to get everyone on the field."

Finally there are sharp forwards running towards Neymar's shots. Brazil should be fun to watch. And Neymar's right foot and Raphinha's left are deadly from dead balls.

Brazil is in a tough group with Serbia, Switzerland and Cameroon. However, against these teams they can start boldly, with the attacking trio of Vin coming in from the left, Raphinha from the right and Richarlison as a classic centre-forward. The wingers (an asset Brazil have lacked for years) can stretch opposition defenses wide, leaving space between Neymar and his midfield partner Lucas Paquetá.

That would leave Casemiro – the brain of a chess master in the body of a heavyweight boxer – to do most of the defensive moves in midfield.

Against the stronger teams in the knockout rounds, his Manchester United team-mate Fred is sure to join the squad alongside Neymar replacing one of the front three centre-forwards as a 'false nine' .

In goal, Liverpool's Alisson is a brilliant goalkeeper and a brilliant footballer rolled into one. But it is in the defense that there are doubts. Danilo on the right wing is competent. The Brazilians will be hoping their understudy, 39-year-old Dani Alves, will be absent, leaving him free to focus on his duties off the pitch to maintain team spirit.

Marquinhos in central defense is one of the best marksmen, blockers and strikers in football. But next to him, Thiago Silva, although still not perfect in this position, is now 37 years old, with his pace declining. "O Monstro" (The Monster) is happiest when defending inside a central back three, but in Brazil he only has Marquinhos, and on this attacking wing, Thiago often has 40 meters of space behind him, forced to cover him.

Then there is Brazil's long-standing weakness: left-back, the area that was exploited by Argentina's Angel Di María for the only goal of last year's Copa América final. Neither Alex Sandro nor Alex Telles, the left-back prospects in Qatar, inspire confidence. Brazil's opponents will aim to play long balls to this wing and counter, leaving Thiago to fight alone.

Brazil still has to prove that it can handle European (and especially Western European) organization and pace. They have not met a team from the continent since beating the Czech Republic in March 2019.

But it is quite possible that in Qatar we may see the reappearance of the divine canary.

Source: Financial Times

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