I'm not sure if I see such a big improvement. The best we've seen was that first half vs Ecuador. I don't think we can take a friendly vs Panama or last night's game vs Haiti as indicators of a new, improved emphasis. And as long as RA and Elias are in the midfield, I don't expect any substantial improvement. Last night, for example, the best passing came from Alves, Coutinho and Willian. RA and Elias just spray balls out to the flanks. As far as Casemiro, his passing has been an upgrade over LG. Even though LG's form had slipped for us, I want to see Casemiro impose himself a bit more. I guess he has been handcuffed the last two games with questionable yellows, but if he can make his presence known in the middle moving forward, it'll be an improvement over LG.
The transition from defense to attack is still bad and Elias and RA has a lot to do with it but at least it not launching long balls to Jonas like it was for Fred. I agree on the Casemiro bit. I have liked what I have seen from him.
Haiti is garbage so we can't take much out of this match. Wallace will start replacing Casemiro and Gabigol will replace Jonas. Allison will continue as goalie as long as Tafarel is involved with the NT. Lucas Lima should be starting - when he enters the match, the entire dynamics of the team changes - we go from digital to HD. But.....Dunga will never start LL. I like the way Brasil is adapting without Neymar - working the ball more with substantial passing to dissect defenses since the individualism of Neymar is not with us. I really liked coutinho and RA. We can still win the group with a tie against Peru depending on how much Ecuador beats Haiti.