As this summer’s World Cup tournament draws ever closer, Brazil are increasingly living up to their billing as favourites to lift the trophy on July 15th. A brilliant qualifying campaign under Coach Tite saw the Selecao top the incredibly tough CONMEBOL group, scoring 41 goals and conceding just 11 in 18 games played.
This side have lost just once since the new man replaced Dunga on the bench, never having conceded more than once in his 21 matches in charge. Five of those encounters have brought about clean sheets, the Brazilians looking much more solid defensively than in the past, yet with their attack still as potent as would be expected.
Recent friendlies have seen them sweep past Croatia with a 2-0 scoreline, also putting three past Austria last weekend with attackers Philippe Coutinho, Gabriel Jesus and Neymar all on the scoresheet. They would also beat Germany 1-0 and tournament hosts Russia 3-0 back in March and – while friendly results don’t always mean much before the real competitive action begins – it certainly seems as though Brazil have rediscovered their groove.
The evolution came after hitting rock bottom when the Canarinhos lost 7-1 to Germany at the 2014 World Cup, a result on home soil that was unparalleled in terms of humiliation for the five-time tournament winners. It was to be their biggest defeat ever in the competition, the first time this side had lost at home in 39 years and they certainly collapsed in some style.
As painful as that might have been, it was vitally important in terms of shocking Brazil into the realisation that they could no longer rely on raw talent alone in the modern era. As tactics had become increasingly complex, they would come unstuck with an over-reliance on star player Neymar.
The appointment of Tite would ensure this would not happen again, a one-year sabbatical in 2014 from his role as Corinthians boss allowing him to become a student of his modern counterparts, a real education in how to become the best tactician he possibly could. That can only benefit this side, the prospect of a talented and positionally aware Brazil a scary thought indeed.
As Tite has worked hard to find the right “balance” – a word he has used repeatedly in the build up – for the players at his disposal, the Selecao have become well-disciplined throughout. A changed role for Renato Augusto is an example of how the boss has thought about his system, the 30-year-old having been recently deployed as a deep-lying playmaker to great effect.
When the talent of the likes of Neymar is added in to a more precise style of football, it can have explosive results as was seen with a superb goal in the aforementioned friendly versus Austria.
“I do not even know the limit of Neymar,” Tite told reporters after the match."His technical and creative ability is impressive. When we release him in the last third of the field, he's lethal.
"The concentration and competitiveness of the team was laudable. Today was another example that, mentally, we are maturing. It was a difficult match, with heavy physical contact and we did really well."
Such physicality from Austria may be repeated in Brazil’s opening World Cup match versus Switzerland on Sunday, but we have seen exactly how well-prepared this side are in order to face them. It may be hard to accurately predict before the tournament begins, but it certainly seems like this Brazil side are ready to go all the way this summer.
