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Brazil cruised past their eternal rivals, Argentina at Belo Horizonte to book a place in the Copa America 2019 final. The hosts got the better of their rivals with a 2-0 score-line and were full value for their victory.
The game was scrappy throughout as both teams adopted a slightly physical style of play. A plethora of fouls disrupted the flow of the game and that meant that both teams never really got a good foothold in the match.
However, the game was not completely devoid of breath-taking action. On a couple of occasions, the hosts sparked to life and that was enough to take them past a poor Argentine side.
Gabriel Jesus opened the scoring in the 19th minute after Roberto Firmino found him expertly in the box. The roles were reversed in the 2nd half when the former blazed past his opponents to set his strike partner up for an easy finish.
Though Argentina struck the post on a few occasions, they simply couldn’t sustain their level of performance. Consequently, they surrendered without making a proper fist of the contest.
Here is a look at the talking points from the game:
#5 Argentina produce a dreadful first half
A lot had been said and written about Argentina before the 2019 Copa America started proper. Several believed that the team lacked the requisite quality to challenge their continental counterparts. And a dreadful first half performance against Brazil later, one couldn’t help but wonder if those notions weren’t too far off the mark.
Many a time, the visitors enjoyed possession in their own half. Yet, the lack of movement in midfield meant that they had to pass the ball around the back without actually moving forward. To compound their woes, they weren’t too adept at holding onto the ball. Nicolas Otamendi contrived to give away possession cheaply on at least a couple of occasions while his defensive partner, German Pezzella also looked extremely uncomfortable with the ball at his feet.
Moreover, the midfield pairing of Leandro Paredes and Rodrigo de Paul struggled to fizz the ball with any intent and were rather content to pass sideways. The above meant that Lionel Messi had to drop deep and initiate proceedings. However, with him dropping deep, the space between the lines was left unexploited. Additionally, the Brazilians doubled up on the Argentine and isolated him completely.
La Albiceleste weren’t helped by the static nature of their play as well. The players in the middle and offensive third were guilty of not providing those behind them with enough options. Thus, their approach play looked lethargic, listless and lackadaisical.
Defensively, the away side were all over the shop, especially during the concession of the first goal. Dani Alves scythed through the heart of their midfield and each of their defenders got sucked to the ball. Otamendi found himself on the left wing when the ball was shifted out to Roberto Firmino. The aforementioned meant that Gabriel Jesus was accorded the freedom of the penalty box to smash home the opener.
Argentina already had a steep mountain to climb coming into the game. Yet, they conspired to make their task much tougher with an abysmal first half showing.
#4 Gabriel Jesus answers his critics emphatically
Gabriel Jesus has endured a slight fall from grace over the past season and a half. The cycle started with an injury he suffered at the back end of the 2017-18 term and that escalated to gigantic proportions at last year’s World Cup.
The striker’s case wasn’t helped by Tite constantly throwing him on in each game and exposing him to the scrutiny of millions. Though the manager’s faith is a virtue revered by many, on this occasion, it started to hamper Jesus’ development a tad, considering the enormous pressure he was put under.
However, since that tournament, Tite has decided to hand Firmino the famous Brazilian No.9 jersey. Consequently, the Liverpool striker has started the majority of games this season. Thus, one expected Jesus to be reduced to a bit-part role at the Copa America.
Yet, the Brazilian manager persisted with the Manchester City striker and deployed him in an unfamiliar right-sided midfield position. Unsurprisingly, the youngster encountered teething problems but come the knock-out stage, he has re-discovered the verve that made the whole of Brazil fall in love with him.
Against Argentina, the striker was a bundle of energy from the outset. He hassled and harried the away side’s defenders. The above led to a few mistakes and that set the tone for Jesus’ evening.
With the ball, the Brazilian was mesmerizing at times. On numerous occasions, he demanded the ball in tight areas and wriggled out of them courtesy exemplary close control. A fact embodied by the 2nd goal Brazil scored.
He picked the ball up near the half-way line and strode purposefully towards the Argentine defence. He first got past Pezzella with ease, then he outpaced Otamendi and eventually sat down Juan Foyth in the penalty area before squaring the ball for Firmino.
For the 1st goal, the striker showcased his predatory instincts as he created space for himself between the right-sided centre back and the full back. Subsequently, he was left with a tap in.
Through the course of Brazil’s Copa America campaign, there have been a lot of murmurs regarding the personnel Tite has preferred. And Jesus too was one of those whose head many had been calling for.
Yet, when the occasion demanded a saviour, Jesus turned up.
#3 Two moments of magic mask Brazil’s imperfections
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.
#2 The two Lionels can’t rescue Argentina
Before the tournament started, thousands (even millions) of eyes were trained on the two Lionels in the Argentine camp. Lionel Scaloni, the lesser known of the two, found himself in the eye of a gigantic storm that had been cooked up after the World Cup.
He was appointed as a caretaker manager till the culmination of the Copa America to allow the Argentine board to make an informed decision on their future course of action. Thus, he found himself in an unenviable position where he had to get the results despite not being assured of his job.
Though he brought in a breath of fresh air at the start with his squad changes, his team also started to odour of the staleness that has plagued the Argentine side for the past few years.
Scaloni’s system never seemed to be designed to get the best out of players at his disposal and his decision to favour unheralded youngsters over players with proven European pedigree raised a few eyebrows too. None of those transpired as he would’ve liked and with a Copa America semi-final defeat in his bag, one feels it’s only a matter of time before he gets the boot.
As for the other Lionel in question, he had a below-par tournament by normal standards. Messi created just a solitary goal and the only time he made the net bulge was from the penalty spot.
Moreover, he looked tired and visibly jaded after a gruelling season. And though he wasn’t helped by those around him, he certainly didn’t cover himself in any glory through the course of the competition.
At this juncture, Argentina find themselves in an almighty mess. A mess that is a combination of some unavoidable circumstances and others not so unforeseeable. While each country goes through generations that might not be as high on the quality quotient as those gone by, Argentina certainly could’ve offset that by utilizing their resources better.
La Albiceleste are on a slippery slope currently and one feels they need to turn things around massively to be challenging for the 2022 World Cup. After all, you know a situation is quite dire when even the great Lionel Messi can’t dig you out of it.
#1 Brazil have their shot at redemption, finally
Back in 2014, Brazil hosted football’s biggest party, hoping to put to bed the ghosts of the Maracanazo in 1950. However, that year opened up a whole new can of worms courtesy a 7-1 mauling at the hands of Germany. Since then, the Brazilians have never looked the same outfit with fans and pundits jumping the gun to write them off at every instance.
However, five years on, they have a chance to set the record straight. Tite’s charges are in the final of the 2019 Copa America and incidentally, they are hosting it this time too.
In the history of the competition, the Brazilians have never lost the Copa America when they’ve been the home side. Thus, they would want to do everything in their power to ensure that the record remains spotless. Moreover, Brazil haven’t tasted success in a multi-nation football tournament (excluding the Olympics) since their Copa triumph in 2007.
Thus, the stage is set for Brazil to bury their worst nightmares, that too in front of their supporters. After all, they might not get a chance to bring back the glint to eyes that have been glistening with the ghosts of their past for a while.
Funnier things have happened in football but surely Brazil won’t let this one slip, would they?
