Brazil's Newest Generation Out To Prove A Point

After a well-deserved 3-0 defeat of Paraguay on the 29th of March 2017, Brazil became the first country to secure their place in the 2018 FIFA World Cup, alongside tournament hosts Russia. Not only did Brazil stride to victory, they marked their qualification in style with three fantastic goals from established stars Philippe Coutinho, Neymar Jr and Marcelo. With Brazil now ensuring they’ll be jetting off to Russia in 2018, let’s take a look at the potential threat they pose for other teams and divulge whether winning football’s most coveted trophy is a possibility for the most successful nation in football history.

1. Qualifying

With the South American continent having completed 14 out of the required 18 World Cup qualifying games, Brazil sits top of the group. It is 9 points clear of second place Colombia, with an astounding 33 points to the latter’s 24. Brazil’s qualifying results have sent out a strong message to the rest of the world that they are still one of the world’s strongest and definitely a force to be reckoned with. Their results as of the Paraguay match have them sitting at 10 wins, 3 draws and 1 loss. Their impressive results have also earned them a positive goal difference of 25, leaving them as the only South American team to have a positive goal difference in double digits, signifying not only their consistency, but their all round dominance of the qualifying group.

Brazil kick started their qualifying campaign on the 8th October 2015 in the worst possible way, going down 2-0 to recently crowned Copa America champions Chile. From there Brazil haven’t looked back; undefeated in their subsequent 13 qualifiers, with an impressive 10 wins out of those matches. Some of their most impressive results from the campaign include their 5-0 demolition of Bolivia, a comfortable 3-0 victory over 2014 World Cup finalists Argentina, as well as a 4-1 victory away to a strong Uruguayan side. With these results headlining Brazil’s campaign, their other results don’t fall to far from the tree either with numerous 3-0 wins against some of the weaker South American sides as well.

If form is to be used as an indicator for Brazil’s potential success, then by the way they’ve played they are looking undoubtedly like one of the strongest sides leading into the tournament.

2. Squad

Brazil’s lineups have varied significantly throughout the qualifiers, with their squad for the most recent match against Paraguay only featuring 2 members from the starting lineup of their 2-0 loss to Chile, in the opening fixture of the Qualifiers. Brazil’s goals have been shared with 11 different goal scorers within their 23-man squad. With that being said, since Tite took over Dunga as manager, Brazil’s squad has settled significantly. The last 6 team sheets Brazil have released sharing uncanny resemblance to that of the previous and prior bouts, with each of the 6 lineups resulting in a victory for Brazil.

Key Figures:

Miranda: As a result of his relentless leadership and ruthless defending, Inter’s first choice centre back Miranda was named as Tite’s choice to captain Brazil going forward. Having started every qualifying match for Brazil so far, Miranda has had a huge impact on their defensive solidarity and is a fundamental factor in Brazil conceding an average of only 0.71 goals per game.

Casemiro: Having been somewhat in and out of the lineup throughout qualifiers, Casemiro has fallen into favour under Tite, and with the current form he is producing for his club Real Madrid; it isn’t hard to understand why. With 27 appearances for Real Madrid so far this season, his form has seen top draw players such as James Rodriguez, Isco and Mateo Kovacic either benched or forced to adapt to new positions in order to create room. Nonetheless, Brazilian fans will gladly welcome Casemiro’s presence as a defensive midfielder in the World Cup.

Philippe Coutinho: Anfield favourite Coutinho looks to be the most obvious choice for the creative midfield role in Tite’s World Cup squad. With 3 goals and 2 assists in qualifiers, as well as 6 goals and 5 assists for Liverpool in the League this season Coutinho will be hard to look past. If the stats weren’t enough, then all one has to do is watch their 3-0 rout of Paraguay to see his impact on the squad. Coutinho managed to display individual brilliance at times, as well as near telepathic link up play with the likes of Neymar, Paulinho and Marcelo, with their involvement in the goals.

Neymar: Spearheading the attack is none other than the prodigal son of Brazil, the golden boy himself… Neymar Jr. Since his record signing for FC Barcelona in 2015, Neymar has established himself as one of the world’s very best, with a third place finish in the 2015 Ballon D’or. Bagging himself 6 goals and 6 assists in the qualifiers so far, Neymar has always proven to be the man for the big occasion for both club and country. Neymar now in his 4th season for Barcelona has netted and impressive 99 goals in 171 appearances for the Catalan side. Alongside his achievements at club level, Neymar is Brazil’s 4th highest ever goal-scorer with 52 international goals and he is only 25 years of age, leaving him on track to break Pele’s record of 77 and plaster himself alongside the all–time greats. After having his 2014 World Cup cut short in the quarter final against Colombia as a result of fractured vertebrae, Neymar will be back with a vengeance in 2018, fans can be certain of that.

Tite (Manager): After a successful spell managing Corinthians between 2014-2016, former Brazilian footballer Tite was hired as Brazil manager on 16th June 2016 following Dunga’s sacking two days prior. Tite’s first competitive game in charge of Brazil was a 3-0 victory over Ecuador on 1st September 2016. As of this point in time, Brazil has won all 6 games with him in charge, putting them currently on an 8 game winning run and an unbeaten streak of 13 matches. Following a string of poor results early in the qualifying process Tite’s objective once hired was simple; qualify for the 2018 World Cup. Tite has gone above and beyond his initial expectations and with such impressive results with a nation behind him; Tite will look to go all the way in Russia 2018.

3. History

As many may know, Brazil is the most successful country in World Cup history with an unprecedented 5 titles to their name. With Brazil having won the World Cup in 1958, 1962, 1970, 1994 and most recently 2002, history suggests that they as a nation have the character required to go all the way in big tournaments. Each of those World Cup winning squads was unique and strong in their own way but each squad had one main focal point. In 1958, 1962 and 1970 it was Pele, regarded by many as the greatest of all time. The 1994 team functioned primarily around playmaker Romario, with the 2002 side being lead by the goal-scoring marvel Ronaldo.

In 2018 Brazil will look to Neymar with the same ideological values as they did to these previous World Cup conquering stars. Like the many successful Brazilian World Cup squads in the past, this team has found an impeccable balance. They are strong at the back, composed in the midfield and clinical up front, which more often than not can turn a team from competitors into a formidable force. With the memories of their heart-breaking exit (7-1) at the hands of Germany in 2014 on home soil, this Brazilian squad will be looking for redemption.

Brazil is a country that has produced some of the greatest footballing talent to ever grace the game, Pele, Zico, Garrincha, Romario, Rivaldo, Ronaldo and Ronaldinho just to name a few. As a result of their success in their World Cup qualifiers, Brazil’s fans will be setting expectations for their squad heading to Russia in 2018, just as high as they did for their 5 previous World Cup winning squads. Ranked 2nd in the world, with their current squad depth under Tite, is there anyone who can stop them from reaching the same heights?