Copa America 2019: Brazil 2-0 Argentina - 5 Talking Points and Tactical Analysis

#3 Two moments of magic mask Brazil’s imperfections

Brazil still has a few flaws to iron out

Brazil have endured quite a tumultuous period since that defeat to Belgium in the quarter finals of the 2018 FIFA World Cup. After all, a team like Brazil shouldn’t be continually failing on the biggest stage.

Thus, each Brazilian performance in the aftermath was under the microscope. Inevitably, that piled more pressure on the players and the manager with the latter in particular, facing questions about his suitability for the job.

Tite has never preached to bring back the glorious, attacking Brazilian football of yesteryears. He is more of a pragmatist than a purist and that shows in the way his team operates. Though the silky, one-touch football is never too far away, the current Brazilian side certainly prioritizes calculation over creativity. And those aspects have come to the fore at this year’s Copa America as well.

In five games, the Brazilians have not conceded a single goal. A truly remarkable statistic considering they’ve never really sent ripples through the footballing fraternity for their defending. However, while they’ve kept things tidy at the back, their insipidness in the offensive third has reared its ugly head quite frequently.

On Tuesday, the hosts were unspectacular for large parts during the match. On most occasions, their approach play was slow and their offensive movement lacked any threat.

Yet, they were able to produce two bits of magic, one in the first half and the other in the second period. Dani Alves was the architect of the opener whereas Jesus sprung to life to conjure the clincher. However, one couldn’t help but wonder if Brazil had indeed tided over their difficulties courtesy the victory.

Questions still remain over how the hosts would react when facing a side intent on defending deep and hitting them on the break. A final against Chile or Peru, two teams who specialize in the above, lies in wait and that could yet prove to be a major stumbling block for the Brazilians.

Thus, while the Brazilians’ joy after defeating Argentina is warranted, they might just want to look at the bigger picture and try to iron out the inherent flaws that still exist in their machine.