Five things we learned from Brazil's 4-2 win over Italy

Italy’s rearguard has made for an engaging Confederations Cup, with the Azzurri ending the group stage having shipped eight goals in three games. Brazil accounted for four of those goals in an exciting 4-2 win over the Italians, who, in all likelihood, will now face Spain in the semifinals.

The football on display was of high order and there was plenty to take away from the game.

Brazil’s high workrate

The Brazilians did not give the Italians much space to work with

Hardworking is not the first word that comes to mind when we talk of Brazil. But Scolari has got this team working hard; and in that sense it shows that the man is very much in touch with modern football. Neymar, after receiving a yellow card for a swipe at Abate in the first half, committed three fouls in the second half while attempting to win the ball back – a sign of how even the most talented player on the pitch has to help out the team when not in possession. Oscar and Hulk were just as impressive, hounding the Italians and forcing them into errors. They pressed as a unit, and the Italians gave away possession on countless occasions. The home side committed 27 fouls in their attempts to break up play, as compared to 18 by the Italians.

Forward options for Prandelli

Stephan El Shaarawy adds much-needed pace and agility to the Italian attack

The choices for the attacking positions in the Italian side are aplenty, and Prandelli had the chance to use the options on the bench due to the injuries and premature substitutions. In Giaccherini, Diamanti and El Shaarawy, Prandelli has at his disposal three top quality attacking midfielders who will create chances for the centre forward, Mario Balotelli. Against Brazil, barring a phase in the second half, when Italy were trailing 2-3, the forwards simply didn’t receive the desired service to have an impact on a consistent basis. El Shaarawy adds agility and speed to the attacks, whereas Diamanti is more of a clever player looking for gaps and space to release the ball. Balotelli completes the attack with his street-smart game, as his flick-on for the Giaccherini goal showed. So in that sense, Prandelli has the luxury of fielding a variety of attack-minded, goal-scoring players.

Neymar

Neymar has lived up to his reputation so far

It takes a certain kind of ability to stand out in a team of Brazilians, and Neymar looks the part. He is a viewer’s delight, his curling freekick leaving even Buffon stumped. With Marcelo also playing high up the field, Brazil overloaded Italy in the rightback zone a number of times; Marcelo even had a shot on target palmed away by Buffon, with Fred slotting home the rebound. Brazil used their main weapon to good effect; and although Marcelo was at times caught too far forward, the gamble largely worked. Alves on the other side was not as attack-minded; Marcelo’s positioning at times was dangerous and risky and Italy exploited it fully once. But that’s the risk Scolari was willing to take, and the team, and the star player himself, responded on the day.

Brazil’s rearguard

Playing with a high backline may prove to be expensive

Since the fullbacks are given the freedom to push up and overlap the forwards, the centrebacks have to often play a high line and be ready to cover the vacant acres of space in behind. Thiago Silva, David Luiz and Dante is a trio that should hold its own against most forwards, but playing a high line comes at a price. Danger develops very quickly, so having three athletic, strong defenders helps; but there may be times when the system will leak a goal from a simple ball over the top simply because the defender came second best in the one-on-one encounter with the opposition striker. Italy scored their first via route-one football; so although the trio is hailed as a terrific backline, there are loopholes in that backline waiting to be exploited.

Life without Pirlo and De Rossi

Too much dependence on Pirlo and De Rossi?

Montolivo did not last long enough to showcase his ability, and Aquilani was rusty for most parts of the game, although later on he did spray some good diagonals once Brazil gave him more breathing space. Italy’s calm passing from the back game was disrupted by the constant pressing by Brazil, and Aquilani and Marchisio found it impossible to instigate attacks from deep. Perhaps the test came too soon, but Italy’s midfield was made to look ordinary for large spells of the game. It would have been interesting to see how Pirlo and de Rossi would have performed under such pressure for the Brazilians. One has a feeling that it would have certainly made for better viewing for Prandelli. Individually, Pirlo and de Rossi are perhaps replaceable, but Italy’s passing game gets affected heavily in the absence of both. A Plan B will have to be put in place for the Azzurri.