Damn Jesus can't buy a goal ... in 2016-17 he has 2 goals today. Gabigol's feet are probably burning on the bench.
D. Luis <=> Fabinho E. Ribero <=> Raphinha would have liked to see Raphinha get 90 mins . Don't see why the sub.
Uruguay is definitely not what it once was. And to think that during the cycles when Brazil beat them 0-4 and 1-4 in WCQ, they were better than they are now. Out of respect for Óscar Tabárez, they should let him finish this cycle so he can end his tenure and retire with a sense of "mission accomplished." It's not singly his responsibility Uruguay hasn't delivered.
Gabigol with a header, which was first invalidated by the linesman (offside) but validated by the ref (VAR). 4-1.
As good as it is to watch Brazil win and to play very well, I hope that this is the start of a turnaround. I've written that Brazil, despite being unbeaten and having done nothing but win other than the draw vs. Colombia, had not been playing too well as of late. Some in Brazilian sports journalism pointed out that the Brazil under Tite during the last WCQ tournament was much more fluid, and one journalist went as far as to say Tite's problem is that Brazil doesn't have a team (!). Tite had asked fans for some patience last week, and the pressure from fans and journalists can be difficult. Neymar said he's likely done in World Cup play after 2022. Hopefully, with Tite (slowly but surely) incorporating new players, including the few from the 2020 Summer Olympic championships team, Brazil will start playing as it did tonight more frequently. As of this moment, qualifying is neither a problem nor an uncertainty. It would take a disaster to make Brazil lose first place, and the goal should now be for the formation of a team going into 2022. On a side note - regardless of whether or not Brazil wins in 2022, I will likely miss Tite more than Neymar, and I'm no hater re: Neymar.
Nice win. Raphinha makes a big statement in his first 3 matches, capping it off with two goals in his first start. Gabriel Jesus can't buy a goal. Gabigol couldn't for a while but got two this window... though today's was a bit of a gift. Tite is very clearly working on solutions to the problems. Not as quickly as some might like, not as obviously, but there are some good articles out there to be found if you want to see what progress is being made. Raphinha just happens to be the more visible type of progress.
Great performance. Best in a while. Felt like Tite 16-17 team. Only negative were the goals missed. Probably should have scored 2 more. Fred played very good it has to be said ... but I think it's an outlier. FBs are a concern but CBs we are pretty set. Raphinha MOTM IMO with Neymar. Neymar had a good game but sill looks off. Not sure how much of his old step he will recover.
And the other goal from Gabigol was a PK. Honestly I rather see Gabigol in this setup ... if he can find his form of course.
I think we're ok at left-back. The staff seem to like Arana, hopefully he gets some time to get over the nerves and perform, cause he was great on the U-23s. Alex Sandro is fine too. And I am betting on Caio Henrique being one of the few new names we will still see before qualifiers are over. But RB is a real concern indeed.
I wouldn't say he's guaranteed, by any means, but he has earned his spot in the next few call-ups. Will be interesting to see in November if Richarlison, Firmino and Matheus Cunha are available, who gets called up for the forward line. With only two games and no forwards suspended, I don't think we'll see more than 6 forwards. Maybe Neymar + 6, but that's still not a lot considering the names in the pool right now.