Yes Brazil have become England they have good centre back workmanlike midfielders and good wide players. The 433 killed the Brazilian 4222 and the number 10 for brazil. 2014 18 22 Brazil did not accept this and were punished for trying to play like brazil. Ancelotti now has humbled them and they can be dangerous counter attacking but they cant dominate the ball. Argentina still produces number 10s like Paz and Franco.
Well Spain produced Paz for Argentina but yeah. Brazil are a good team got a big test out the way. Alex Sandro and Danilo are back up FB's. Could they be backup FB's for Italy? Doubtful. Shows some weakness but there is depth elsewhere. I can see Brazil in the R16. I've written this before, Brazil are like Italy and other South American nations that they play too slow.
I'm not watching on US TV but seeing clips online seems like usual Zlatan Ibrahomovic is acting like a clown. He had no right to put his hands on Speed.
Yeah there's no reason to write off Brazil, especially in a field like this. They have the wingers who can ultimately flip a game like Vini did in the first half. Struggling early to really get anything going and one push up the field --- tie game. I just think the midfield and build up really looked sloppy and clunky. They are just missing some of that ability to hold the ball which allowed the flair to shine through in past iterations. Obviously this team being nowhere as talented compared to past iterations. Morocco was a good test for them early. I still think when we get to the nitty gritty of the tournament they are going to have spells where sides take it to them and ask big time questions of their defense.
As a fan of international baseball I only know Curacao from that. Their ball players rep The Netherlands and now their diaspora in the The Netherlands rep the island.
They have speed on flanks, what they don't have is creativity in the middle. Italy isn't slow, neither are Brazil, but are victims of the overlap mentality, winger, fullback, overlapping and Italy particularly victim of the allergy of defending well. The worst part is the lack of a fantasista. This is probably where Inacio becomes so valuable for both. Not a traditional fantasista, but has the creativity and cuts into the middle so as to act like one.
Apologies because I've written it before but to me this on teams like Costa Rica, Honduras, even Guatemala to not have taken advantage of 3 spots minus Mexico and USA to not qualify out of CONCACAF. Instead the perfect tonic get Curacao qualified and then reality hits like a son-bitch.
Yes they are still very good people underestimate them. I could see them go to the semi finals. It really just depends how the next few games play out and what the draw is. They do play too slow but Carlo settles their defence and counter attack they can knock anyone out. Everyone is talking about how bad Brazil looked and how good Morocco looked and it was 1-1. So what does that tell us?
First look at Sweden. Garbage Qualifiers bubackdoor to a Playoff by virtue of winning their UNL group in League C, hah!
Elite culture. Meanwhile NYC thugs fans caused destruction to their city after the NBA Finals. It's culture. See the difference? Japan fans doing what they do 🙌🇯🇵Following their incredible 2-2 draw with Netherlands, @jfa_samuraiblue supporters once again demonstrated their impeccable manners, tidying the stands before departing Dallas Stadium. pic.twitter.com/clODmtsH2w— FIFA (@FIFAcom) June 15, 2026
5-1 Sweden final. Some advanced technology at work to show that Isak put the play ONside for the 4th goal. Any other tournament that goal doesn't count. 5th goal. What to say? Another gift by the Tunisian Defender. Was that off a throw-in? Real bad. Lack of control with the ball at his feet and get his pocket picked. This a difficult group. The +4 on the day will help Sweden in a tie-breaker to advance if it comes to that. Surely Tunisia can't be this bad against Japan and The Netherlands. For Tunisia they pretty much need to win the next 2. Even 1 Win and 1 Draw likely not enough given the GD.
Fun games yesterday, today's lineup looks rough so we'll see. Netherlands Japan is a proper world cup classic.
Seeing the pace and energy of Ivory Coast late in that game yesterday was ridiculous. They can play forever. Should be a message to the next Italian manager that you need to bring quality, no doubt, but in today's game more than ever you need athleticism on the field.
Even Sweden, look what you can do when you have the healthy horses up top. The ability of two healthy horses to stretch the field is insane. And great shooting ability from the midfield. I clowned Sweden but they are here to compete. Australia now has horses too. We live in the winger and low block era, but the team that wins the tournament will have a horse at striker. Shooting from the midfield a la Sweden, Japan, and Asutralia will be a bonus.