Brazil have become international football's biggest business over the last ten years; they are made to win this curious World Cup. twoht says it is a perfect fit but that record v Europe is troubling.
Since last winning the World Cup in 2002 Brazil have fallen short time and time again, but will this time prove to be different? It seems made for them…They’re the World Cup’s biggest draw but it’s been a lean two decades for the Brazil national team.
Neymar, Gabriel Jesus, Vinicius Junior, Antony, Richarlison, Raphinha, Rodrygo, Gabriel Martinelli and Pedro is a range of attacking options unparalleled for depth elsewhere in the tournament and the defence isn’t too shabby either, with Alisson and Ederson as goalkeepers behind a defence that has only conceded three goals in eight games over the course of 2022. Elsewhere, defensive midfield anchor Casemiro has been one of the Premier League’s stand-out players this season.
According to their own website, ‘Pitch has the rights to manage and monetise the Brazil Men’s National Football team’s friendlies, delivering all aspects of the world-renowned Brasil Global Tour’, which makes them sound like little more than international football’s Harlem Globetrotters, a branch of the light entertainment business rather than a formerly dominant iconic team in the highly competitive world of elite level professional sport.
But perhaps Brazil’s big test of character might come in two forms. Firstly, should they play European opposition in the knockout stages of the competition. In 2002, they beat Belgium, England, Turkey and Germany to lift the title, but they haven’t beaten a European team at the business end of the tournament since. In 2006 France knocked them out. In 2010 it was the Netherlands. In 2014 it was Germany, and in 2018 it was Belgium.
The two months during which the tournament takes place will also be amongst the most humid of the year in Qatar, andas ‘a strong contender for the most humid country on the planet’. Air conditioning is in place inside stadia, but players will have to train without, while acclimatisation – which is strongly recommended for dealing with such conditions – is barely possible because of the tightness of the schedule.
Brazil are also on an unbeaten run, though theirs ‘only’ dates back 15 games to when they lost to Argentina in the final of the 2021 Copa America. They may also have a last shot at a redemption story of their own with Neymar, upon whom so many of their hopes have been pinned over the last decade but who is reportedly considering retirement from the international game after this tournament.
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