Brazil will be taking a much-changed line-up to the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022, with more than half the squad that fell to Belgium in Russia four years ago having been replaced.
Aside from a change in personnel, there has also been a shift in the “Seleção” mindset. This is a more adventurous side that has harnessed the flair and attacking skills of a clutch of exciting young forwards who left Brazil at a young age and have established themselves at some of Europe’s biggest clubs.
They include Vinicius Junior, Antony, Raphinha, and Rodrygo. Teenagers for the most part in 2018, when they were starting out in their careers, they are now ready to help Neymar shoulder the creative burden.
“A Seleção had the results and the solidity, but we lacked the impetuosity and creativity that these players bring,” said head coach Tite, who wasted little time in bringing the new generation into the fold. With so much talent at his disposal, he had the difficult task of deciding who makes the trip to the World Cup and who stays home.
The team has just put together the best-ever campaign in the South American qualifiers, recording 14 wins, three draws, and no defeats and scoring 40 goals in total, and conceding just five. Their aim now is to go all the way in Qatar.
Tite’s Approach and Tactics
Tite is the first coach to take charge of A Seleção at two consecutive World Cups, uninterrupted since Maria Zagallo led Brazil to Mexico in 1970 and Germany in 1974. Tele Santana was in the post in Spain in 1982 and Mexico in 1986 but vacated it in between. That revealing fact is an indication of the credibility that the 61-year-old now enjoys and which he has largely built up since his tenure at Corinthians, this in a country where foreign coaches are becoming increasingly common at the club level.
Tite has earned that credibility. As painful as the defeats were to Belgium in the quarterfinals at Russia 2018 and to Argentina in the 2021 Copa America final, he has overseen a period of excellence, guiding his team to 58 wins in his 76 matches on the job, losing only five and drawing 13 of the remaining 18 matches.
Over the last ten years, he has gradually expanded his tactics and has earned the admiration of both the older and younger members of the Brazil dressing room.
Key Player: Neymar
Though much has changed in Neymar’s life since he made his international debut in 2011, he remains a brilliantly unpredictable player who carries the hopes of millions on his shoulders. Now 30, he is now at the stage where he is starting to ponder his legacy and his future as a Brazil player, one he hopes will involve fulfilling two major ambitions: to win the World Cup and be named the best player on the planet. Qatar 2022 seems a perfect opportunity to kill those two birds with one stone.
One to Watch: Vinicius Junior
Though Vinicius regularly has the Bernabeu faithful leaping out of their seats, he is not yet a guaranteed starter in a Brazil side brimming with talent. The main reason for that is Tite’s ongoing search for an attacking yet balanced line-up.
With every passing month and every flash of skill, however, Vini Jr makes his claim for a more prominent role in the national team all the stronger. Whether he starts or comes on from the bench, A Seleção knows that the 22-year-old is a matchwinner who needs only a moment to unpick defenses.
Brazil’s World Cup History
Though they have failed to reach the Final since making it five world titles at Korea/Japan 2002, and though Germany and Italy have closed the gap on them since then, A Seleção is still out on their own as the most successful nation in the World Cup history.
They have also reached the quarterfinals at every world finals since USA 1994.
Source: www.fifa.com