Brazil was a country in chaos before the World Cup with lots of protests against the government’s decision to spend money hosting a World Cup instead of tackling the poverty issues that exist within the country. It may have been worth it had the team won the World Cup on home soil, and finally banished the hurt that still exists from the 1950 World Cup, however Brazil were embarrassed twice, first 7-1 (yes SEVEN) in the semi final against Germany, and again in the play off against Netherlands, this time by a more respectable 3-0 scoreline. It’s now evident that the country have huge issues that need to be sorted out before the next major tournament, which is next year, the Copa America.
Although the absence of Thiago Silva and Neymar contributed massively to their mauling at the hands of Germany, the hosts failed to convince at this tournament, only just scraping through against Chile and Colombia. They didn’t play football that you would expect from Brazil, given their penchant for playing entertaining attacking football. Instead they played a combative defensive style, which wasn’t impressive on the eye. While in the final third, they relied too much on Neymar and Oscar, who couldn’t carry the side, especially after Neymar’s injury in the quarter final. Both Hulk and Fred played a major role for Brazil and did very little to justify their selection, these two highlight the lack of depth in the Brazilian talent pool, which will become more evident as some of the older players leave the international scene.
Brazil lacked genuine flair in their midfield as Fernandinho, Luiz Gustavo and Paulinho are too disciplined to create in the final third, while Hulk was too hapless when it came to his end product. Scolari may now be regretting not taking Lucas Moura who would have provided a creative spark in the final third, while his dribbling and pace make him very hard to defend against. It would be a huge mistake if he isn’t brought straight back into the fold after the World Cup. They can’t rely on Neymar for too much longer, as he sometimes won’t be available as they learned the hard way in the semi final.
They don’t have a great amount of talent coming through either, which is why it is even more of a blow that Diego Costa selected to represent Spain over his native country as he is on his way to becoming one of the best strikers in European football. Brazil is becoming very much like England, living off history and tradition rather than talent. There will always be expectation, but it’s hard to see Brazil getting deep in the next few World Cups. The talent simply isn’t coming through as it once did. The fact that Ronaldinho was being considered as a potential squad member for this World Cup speaks volumes.
It’s difficult to predict what will happen next for Brazil and to add to that Felipe Scolari has been dropped as Brazil’s head coach due to the embarrassing defeats at the hands of both Germany and Holland. Neither match was even close.
Tite on the other hand is the man, who has always been destined to take the national job and his chance may come this summer, but he will have a huge rebuilding job on his hands. The likes of Fred, Dani Alves, Thiago Silva and Hulk will start to recede in ability as they age and the talent coming through or lack of it will make it difficult for Brazil to create a side that can reach the heights of the 1994 and 2002 sides.