I think the general impression is that 2022 Serbia is better than 2018 Serbia due to Vlahovic. But what worries me the most is the order of the matches: Switzerland vs Cameroon Brazil vs Serbia Cameroon vs Serbia Brazil vs Switzerland Serbia vs Switzerland Cameroon vs Brazil Like you guys said, the 1st game is always a tough one, regardless of Serbia attacking playing style. Then playing Switzerland who plays super defensively on the 2nd game will also be tough. It won't be that big of a surprise if we reach the final round with the following situation: Serbia 4 pts Switzerland 4 pts Brazil 2 pts Cameroon 0 pts Then things might be all decided in GD between Serbia, Switzerland and Brazil. In Russia 2018, we had our toughest opponent (Switzerland) on match 1, then the weakest (Costa Rica) on match 2 and Serbia on match 3 when our team was a bit more 'relaxed'.
For June, I do expect Firmino and Arthur if they keep getting more playing time at their clubs. If we think about a list of 26 players, I think these are 2 players who can add something different to the team. Rodrygo and Martinelli are similar to the other wingers, even though Martinelli is a hell of a player.
A bit off topic, but CONMEBOL will most likely be changing the WCQ format for 2026 given the expanded qualification slots (6.5) makes the round robin 18 game format antiquated. You'd have 10 countries fighting for 7 spots meaning to the top teams would most likely guarantee qualification earlier in the qualification process. That would make a lot of the games meaningless and there would be a loss of commercial and competitive appeal. This week CONMEBOL will be discussing possible new formats. It's not easy to come up with a good format for 10 teams where 6.5 go through. The most discussed format is 2 groups of 5 where the top 2 would go through directly and some of the remaining teams would fight for the scrap spots. One thing is for certain, there will be a reduction in the number of match days ... Which leads to the other news that UEFA and CONMEBOL have opened a joint office in London. So some of those free match days will probably be filled with a joint Nations League.
Watched highlights of PSG game this weekend and Marquinhos had another bad giveaway in the back. His form is a bit concerning. It has become a norm since I think 2006 that the pundits in Brazil place our defense as one of if not the best in the world. I think it certainly was the case with Dunga's 2010 team. But otherwise, I've found the confidence in our defense a bit exaggerated. For example, we didn't look that good in the back in 2018 IMO. Sure the CBs were very good, but that's not all that makes a defense great. We just didn't concede more goals because our opponents lacked quality IMO ... because the chances were there. I hope Tite is not starting a 38 year old Thiago Silva. As good as he may be for his age ... he will still be 38.
IMO Militão is our best CB at the moment, but Silva and Marquinhos do have a lot of chemistry together. And I’m not sure where I read this, but there was this stat saying that most goals that we conceded during the WCQ were from bola parada/aérea.
We sure have a history of getting screwed from aerial plays set-pieces/crosses in WCs: - Italy winning goal in 82 (corner) - Zidane headers in 98 (corners) - Henry goal in 06 (set piece cross) - 2 goals in 2010 vs Netherlands (cross and corner) - 1st goal in 2017 7 x 1 debacle (corner). - 1st goal vs Belgium in 2018 (corner).
I remember being disappointed that we gave up a headed goal off a corner against Ecuador in that messy game in January, but it's not really a rarity these days. Yes, we give up few goals, but among those we give up are plenty of set pieces and crosses. (Not to mention the historic pattern above.) We do have world-class defenders, but I think the constant refrain is definitely shrouding the issues for some commentators. Part of the problem is that when people say we have the best defense they're thinking CD's + Casemiro and thrilled with the depth at both positions. Another part however is how often they score. It feels like every time Thiago Silva or Marquinhos would score from a header earlier in qualifying or in Copa America, it would reinforce the idea we have a great defense because those guys were doing everything. Keeping a clean sheet, and scoring winning goals. I know a lot of people like to speculate a 3 CD system would help, but, even though I have also suggested that at times, I don't think it would address the current issue. We need to do better defending against speedy wide players and against set pieces and crosses, and we can't ignore the full-back's role on our defense and just say "we have the best CDs in the world". (And on top of that we have to worry a little about the CDs' form as celito pointed out).
Liverpool and Man City won today. Liverpool had the easier time, away from home at Benfica. Fabinho and Alisson did well (though Alisson did provide a nervous moment when dribbling an attacker - if he loses that it would have been a tying goal). Firmino played 30 mins as well. For Atletico Madrid, despite losing at Manchester City Lodi played a good game. He did have a couple of issues in the second half he'll want to improve on, but overall I think this match helps him more than hurts, if Tite wants to consider calling him again. Matheus Cunha played 30 mins but most of his contribution was to try to get Man City riled up, even pissed Ederson off with his antics (and Ederson got a yellow card for running over to him to complain). Gabriel Jesus, on the other hand, played 22 minutes and only managed to get a stupid yellow, which means he is out of the next match. Not only did he not make a case for himself for the call-up, he cost himself an opportunity to make that case in the return leg.
Two games with major selecionáveis today... but only 1 of them was CL. Villareal x Bayern was the rare CL match with no Brazilians at all. The other CL game was Chelsea x Real Madrid. Vini Jr. was in good form, but missed his chances. Benzema had a hat-trick though, with an assist from Vini on the first. Casemiro was impressive in the first half, very good overall, though the last 20 minutes were tougher pressure from Chelsea. The other match I am referring to above was Burnley x Everton in the Premier League. Richarlison scored on two penalties, missed some other chances, including a bicycle kick, maybe should have been less selfish on another shot, but ultimately they lost 3x2. Good for Richarlison short-term, but if his team gets relegated, that is not going to be good for the seleção. They are 1 point ahead of their closest competition for "rebaixamento" with a really tough schedule. I can't imagine the revolt in Brazil if his team falls to "segunda divisão" and he gets picked ahead of Gabigol and Hulk in the Brazilian first division.
At the moment I think the best chance of beating France is if they beat themselves (that stereotype of them having internal crises every other World Cup). Certainly they have players in amazing form right now.
On another note: https://oglobo.globo.com/esportes/f...465840?utm_source=globo.com&utm_medium=oglobo Any thoughts? I personally hope we get him (even though his past performances in the knockout phase of the Champions League haven't been the best).
Benzema and Mbappe are scary and (because of internal problems) France may beat themselves. However, the good news from France is that their defense is not as good as their offense and they rely on Pogba and Kante to protect their D alot, i.e., a great team (like Brazil) with a great offense (like Brazil) can score goals on France.
Neymar scored a goal today. It's just so shitty I have to tune in to Ligue 1 if I want to see how Neymar is doing. In other news, Vin Jr. with a trivela cross for a Casemiro goal.
Lots of highlights for me to catch up on today, plus Flamengo (now) and Palmeiras (in a couple of hours) both play their first Brasileirão matches today. Neymar ended up with a hat-trick. That Vini trivela for Casemiro's diving header was sweet. Emerson started for Tottenham today. Don't think he was directly involved in the goals, but I'll be watching the highlights to see how he did. I'm hopeful he will get another shot. I expected him and Fred to improve this year thanks to new coaches and so far it has definitely happened for Fred, who was already at a very solid level to begin with.
And he scored! Arthur Cabral also scored for Fiorentina, ended up being the winning goal at Napoli. Meanwhile in Brazil Hulk scored twice, but Gabi and Pedro did not score in opening weekend. Second leg of the Champions League quarters this Tuesday and Wednesday, as well as Libertadores for Brazilian clubs.
Good and bad for Jesus. Missed a great opportunity before the goal. On the other hand, Alisson made a great save and Ederson almost had a huge blunder trapping the ball with his foot. Otherwise both GKs did well. This was Jesus 1st goal in 15 games. As soon as the commentator said that at the beginning I told my Liverpool fan friend at the bar that he was going to score. I was surprised Pep started him to be honest. Fabinho got caught looking slow a couple of times. KDB slipped past him easily in the 1st goal and he put in a poor effort there IMO.
If HULK continues to play the way he is playing until October, TITE tera a obrigação de convocar ele as a Back up centro avante. When nothing else is working up front, Hulk, the best player in Brazil today, will make the difference.
2014: Fred 2018: Fagner 2022: Hulk? I think Hulk is an option indeed, but stating that Tite has the 'obligation' to bring him is a bit too much. Matheus Cunha, Richarlison, Neymar, Jesus, Firmino, Arthur Cabral, Gabriel Barbosa are also options for that number 9 spot. Like you said, it will all depend on what happens in the next 6 months, but it seems to me that if players in Europe get consistent starts for their clubs and score a relatively okay number of goals, they will have Tite's preference over Hulk's amazing numbers in the Brazilian league.
Unfortunately, there is, and always has been, a preference and biased towards Brazilian players overseas. A classic example: Dudu Cearense (Palmeiras).
Rodrygo with a goal off the bench and Vin Jr. with a nice assist today for Madrid. Vin Jr. would benefit so much if we had a good 9.