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The 'Tite era' has fully redefined Neymar's Brazil as they head into another Copa America. From the lows of getting humiliated 7-1 at home against the Germans at the 2014 World Cup, the Seleção are back amongst the big boys of world football again, having won Gold at the 2016 Rio Olympics and then going on to take top honors at the 2019 Copa America.
With the 2021 edition of the South American footballing carnival that is the Copa America set to start on June 14th (IST), defending champions Brazil are still the favorites. Brazil were imperious in the 2019 edition ant went unbeaten throughout the tournament defeating Peru 3-1 in the final thanks to goals from Everton, Gabriel Jesus and Richarlison.
Brazil start off the tournament in Group B, alongside Colombia, Venezuela, Ecuador and Peru. Brazil are set to face Ecuador and Paraguay in the upcoming World Cup qualifier matches, on June 5th and June 9th respectively, as they prepare for the most important tournament of 2021.
With an array of dizzying talent at his disposal, Tite has had to leave out several superstars from his latest squad, including Leeds United's Raphinha, Everton's Allan, Manchester City's Fernandinho, Real Madrid's Marcelo and Sevilla's Diego Carlos.
Brazil are the bookies favorites to win the tournament, having cemented their ranking at No.3 in the world as per the latest FIFA World rankings, behind only Belgium and world champions France.
The 2021 edition of the Copa is being held amidst much controversy, with the host country changed to Brazil from Argentina and Colombia, owing to Covid concerns.
First, Colombia pulled out as hosts due to civil unrest in the country. Then CONMEBOL, South American football's governing body, decided to strip Argentina of hosting rights as the country faced a spike in Covid, with more than 30,000 cases a day. The country has also been in strict lockdown since May 22.
Preparations were further disrupted due to invitees Qatar and Australia pulling out their teams. This led to a change in tournament format, and there will now be two groups of 5 teams instead of the original 6.
In this article, we will be taking a look at the top 5 reasons why the men in the Canary yellow are the favorites going into this year's Copa America.
#5 Brazil head into Copa America 2021 in a rich vein of form
Tite and team have not taken their foot off the gas pedal since Copa America 2019, racing to the top of the standings after winning all 4 of their opening World Cup qualifying fixtures. This included a 4-2 mauling of Copa finalists Peru and a 2-0 comprehensive victory over fellow South American heavyweights Uruguay.
Not only have Tite's Brazil maintained a 100% record in qualification so far, they have also racked up a stunning 12 goals in 4 matches, while conceding a paltry 2. Even while Neymar was out injured, other stars like Roberto Firmino (3 goals in 4 appearances) and Richarlison (2 goals in 4 appearances) have stepped up to make themselves counted.
The core of Brazilian youngsters who first shot to stardom during the triumphant 2016 Olympic football campaign have truly come of age.
Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus has matured to become an elite goal poacher while Gabriel 'Gabigol' Barbosa has set South America on fire, already racking up 6 goals in 6 appearances for Flamengo this season in the Copa Libertadores.
Also read: Copa America 2021: Top 5 midfielders to watch out for
#4 Brazil have a rock-solid defense and two of the world's best goalkeepers
In Chelsea's Champions League winner Thiago Silva and Paris Saint-German captain Marquinhos, Brazil have perhaps the most impregnable central defensive partnership in international football.
Not only has the duo conceded only a paltry 2 goals in 4 games so far in South American World Cup Qualifiers, they were in ridiculous form at the 2019 Copa America as well, letting in just one goal in 6 games!
The 36-year old Silva shows no signs of slowing down, having guided Chelsea to an unexpected triumph at the UCL against Manchester City. The 27-year-old Marquinhos has already become PSG's captain and is widely touted as the future Brazil captain as well.
Combine that with not one but two of the world's best goalkeepers in Alisson and Ederson, and even the sharpest of strikeforces will find it difficult to score against the Selecao.
While Liverpool's Alisson is expected to start, Manchester City's EPL title winner Ederson is putting up a stern challenge, having also won the 2020-2021 season Golden Glove award in the English top flight.
#3 Brazil's attack is not over-reliant on Neymar
While having a player of Neymar's abilities is definitely an advantage in Copa America 2021, Tite's pupils have shown that they are not over-reliant on their talisman. Brazil romped to continental glory in the 2019 Copa America without their star man, with Benfica's Everton Soares and captain Dani Alves shouldering much of the creative burden.
Despite a sub-par season with Liverpool, Firmino has a knack of finding form in national colors. For Tite, he is ideal as a target man and adeptly finds ways to play in the talented wingers of Brazil to ensure there is no dearth of goals.
Everton's Richarlison and Copa America 2019's Golden Boot winner Everton 'Cebolinha' Soares are expected to chip in with goals alongside Neymar and Firmino. Manchester City's Gabriel Jesus is expected to act as an impact sub.
The unavailability of Philippe Coutinho due to injury has given Lyon's prodigious playmaker, Lucas Paqueta, a chance to impress. The 23-year-old has really come off age for the French side, scoring 9 goals and providing 5 assists from central midfield. He was also selected in the official French Ligue 1 team of the season for 2020-21 alongside PSG's Brazilian duo of Neymar and Marquinhos.
With Gabigol's rich vein of goalscoring form in Brasilerao as well as the Copa Libertadores and Vinicius Junior coming off an improved season with Real Madrid, Tite is truly spoiled for choice on the attacking front.
#2 Casemiro could be Brazil's trump card at Copa America 2021
Ever since Tite took over as Brazil manager, Casemiro has been an integral part of every squad and one of the first names on every teamsheet. It was once an incredible record that Brazil under Tite, had never lost a game when Casemiro had played!
A mainstay of Zinedene Zidane's incredible Real Madrid team that won three Champions League titles in a row, Casemiro will be hungry for continental glory at Copa America 2021 after an uncharacteristically trophy-less season with Los Blancos.
Tite's midfield is built around Casemiro with either Aston Villa's Douglas Luiz, Liverpool's Fabinho or Manchester United's Fred partnering him. Adept at playing a shield in front of the back four, he also takes care to protect star players like Neymar and Richarlison from rough treatment from opposition defenders.
Having contributed 6 goals and provided 4 assists for Real Madrid this La Liga season, he also provides another additional goal threat for Brazil. This is especially pronounced in set pieces, due to his incredible aerial ability.
With him fit and ready to fire, the Brazilian midfield is capable of running the game against any opposition.
#1 Young, attack-minded wingbacks as opposed to conservative options like Danilo and Alex Sandro
With the notable exception of Dani Alves, Brazil have struggled in recent times to find players that can balance both attacking and defensive capabilities in the wingback position.
With conservative wingbacks like the Juventus duo of Alex Sandro and Danilo, Brazil were unable to generate creativity and pacy attacks down the wings, a hallmark of the Selecao gameplay.
This was a key weakness that was exploited in the 2018 World Cup quarterfinal by Belgium, where Brazil, with the declining Marcelo and the limited talent of Fagner, struggled to create anything of note down the wings. Brazil were knocked out 2-1 by Belgium.
However, Brazil approach the 2021 Copa America with young, promising talent in wingback positions, particularly Barcelona's new acquisition Emerson Royal and Spanish champions Atletico Madrid's revelation Renan Lodi.
While Renan Lodi has made the most of his recent run with the national side to nail down a starting spot, Emerson is expected to displace Danilo in the starting lineup for the upcoming World Cup qualifiers.
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