Before Brazil defeated South Korea, 5 x 0, there was a feeling of emptiness, depression and pessimism in the sports press and in the public that follows football in relation to the Brazilian team. After the enchanting and surprising performance against South Korea, euphoria even among pessimistic critics began to predominate.
It had been a long time since we had seen such an intense team, attacking and defending with many players, pressing all over the field to recover the ball, compact, without leaving many spaces between sectors and with many exchanges of passes, changes of position and beautiful individual plays.
Casemiro and Bruno Guimarães played at the same technical level as the best midfielders in the world, contradicting my concepts and those of many other analysts that there is a lack of stars in the national team’s midfield. Rodrygo, on the left, and Vinicius Junior, centrally, exchanged positions and acted as they did in their best moments at Real Madrid.
The 3-2 defeat against Japan, in turn, took euphoria into depression. It’s neither one thing nor the other, even considering that there were many changes in the team. Contrary to what Ancelotti said after the match, Japan was better from the beginning of the second half, not just after the first goal.
The Brazilian team’s second half was very bad, with the same serious and old problems: leaving many spaces between the sectors and using little pressure to recover the ball, in addition to many individual problems. The two full-backs and defender Beraldo scored very poorly. The excellent defender Fabrício Bruno made a mistake in the first goal, which also only occurred because Japan put pressure on the ball.
Ancelotti kept only three players from the match against South Korea (Casemiro, Bruno Guimarães and Vinicius Junior), because they are the three undisputed starters.
The collective and individual performances throughout the match against South Korea and in the first half against Japan need to be praised and preserved. Against Japan, Paquetá played a great first half replacing Matheus Cunha. Paquetá has more playmaker characteristics, forming a trio with Casemiro and Bruno Guimarães, while Matheus Cunha has more striker characteristics, playing ahead of Casemiro and Bruno.
The presence of a more centralized Vinicius Junior, who worked very well at Real Madrid until Mbappé’s arrival, seems to be the best option for the team, as there are several great alternatives on the left (Raphinha, Rodrygo) and, at the moment, only reasonable choices for the center forward position. You have to try to climb the best.
Many things will still change between now and the World Cup. Time is wise, the great divider even between good teams, which sometimes win great titles, and those that shine and remain eternal.
Brasileirão
The matches this Wednesday (15) and Thursday (16) for the Brasileirão were supposed to be next weekend. No country in the world currently has national championship games the day after national team matches. Several Brazilian teams will be missing from the numerous and decisive regional classics.
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