This was by far the best performance by Brazil since last year's Copa América. Yes, the opponent was a Bolivia who left some of its key players at home, but Brazil was consistent in its attacking posture for most of the match. Brazil went after possession at almost all times, the defense was solid, and there was good team chemistry. The level of play shown is not only encouraging, but it's a far cry from the disjointed performances following last year's tournament. I for one expected a bit more rust following more than 300 days of no national team play. Renan Lodi is a keeper. He demonstrated skill, speed, and a hunger to go forward. Rodrygo - made a few errors earlier on but was fortunate to score, even though his header bounced off Carrasco. Éverton Ribeiro was on all cylinders. Great game by Neymar - and this despite him not scoring. He was all over the field, showed some amazing dribbling that would have made Garrincha proud, and distributed the ball at will. This is the kind of play Brazil needs from Neymar, and this is what he needs to do as he will be nearly 31 when the 2022 World Cup happens. He is at his athletic prime; he needs to take care of business now. Brazil ends the first round of 2022 WCQ the way it did many of the rounds in the last tournament: in first place. Peru is next.
I should also add that (yes, this is Bolivia and it's only the first game in 2020) this performance should give Tite some breathing room. He expended a lot of political capital after 2018 and his position got stronger after winning the tournament at home in 2019, but that stretch of winless games and which only had that one win vs. Korea earned him a lot of criticism. Now that the 2022 World Cup is a little bit over 2 years away, and now that Tite has led Brazil to a title, the Copa América next year (which was supposed to be this past summer) should be a secondary priority. It's always great to win, but the World Cup is the objective. I really cannot see CBF keeping him on board if Tite and Brazil fail in Qatar (and Tite himself might decide to move on).
Uéverton - praticamente só tomou chuva. Dani (nao Alves) lo - marcou presença. Vovo Silva - não teve que trabalhar ... mostrou muita emoção na hora do hino. Marquinhos "sortudo porque a mulher dele é gostosa pra caralho" - deixou o seu. Lodi da lateral esquerda - Marcelo ja era Casemito - nem se esforçou Douglas (não sou parente de David) Luiz - não comprometeu Coutinho Enceradeira - ativo, alguns bons passes MC Cebolinha - me fez chorar de tão ruim Adulto Ney - tão adulto que só passou pra gol ... não marcou Fermento - apareceu o tal cara do Liverpool ... só precisava de uma Bolívia. Ainda errou um 1v1 com goleiro. Pastor Tite - Rei das Eliminatórias
This was the 49th game Brazil has played with Tite as coach. Brazil has scored 105 goals and allowed 17, with 35 wins, 10 draws, and only 4 losses. Restricting the statistics to his second stint as Brazil head coach, this was the 23rd game Brazil has played with Tite. 50 goals scored, 9 allowed. 15 wins, 6 draws, 2 losses. Only twice has Brazil allowed 2 goals: vs. Belgium in 2018 (and one was an own goal by Fernandinho) and against Colombia in a 2-2 friendly in September 2019. Whatever some fans may say about Tite, these are very steady results and Tite may well have found enough new players to get a thorough renovation underway. Peru will present a much tougher test, and I'll definitely be watching.
I expected a bit better from them. They have a pretty good U23 set-up. Also pretty cool that my friend's nephew made his debut for Bolivia! He's born and raised in Virginia and played Division 1 soccer. Played a bit for DC United, and is now playing in Bolivia. He was prob Bolivia's best player on the pitch yesterday, besides the goalie hah.