For the Copa do Brasil, the four semifinalists performed well, collectively and individually, for having selected the best players. Flamengo confirmed the superiority over the other three, for having more talents.
In the national team, will Tite, in the last two friendlies before the Cup, against Ghana and Tunisia, call up the players he intends to take to the World Cup and select the team that should start the Cup or will he still experiment?
In defense, besides Marquinhos, Thiago Silva and Militão, who will be the fourth defender called up? There are several at the same level. On the right side, will Daniel Alves be in the Cup along with Danilo? Who will replace Daniel Alves if he is not called up? There are no good options. Emerson, from Tottenham, is the most quoted. I prefer Marcos Rocha. On the left, besides Alex Sandro, who will be the second full-back? I would choose Arana.
If there were 23, as it was before, the 12 in midfield and attack would be right: Casemiro, Fabinho, Bruno Guimarães, Fred, Paquetá, Coutinho, Raphinha, Vinicius Junior, Antony, Neymar, Gabriel Jesus and Richarlison.
Who will be the three that complete the group of 26? Probably a striker (Pedro, Matheus Cunha or Firmino), an attacker on the side (Rodrygo is the favourite) and one more for the defense or midfield. In an emergency, Militão or Marquinhos can play on the right side, and Casemiro and Fabinho have already played in the defense. On the left side, there is no player from another position who has already played in the sector.
I am more excited about Pedro’s call-up than that of other players who work in Brazil, who have already been requested or even called up, such as Gabigol, Hulk, Éverton Ribeiro, Raphael Veiga, Danilo and others.
Neymar, in his World Cup debut, will he be the most advanced forward in the center, with Paquetá next to him, in addition to two wingers who score and attack and two midfielders, or will Tite choose a striker and withdraw a little Neymar? Paquetá would leave, who could be an option on the side or even in Fred’s position.
In football and in all activities, there are more doubts than certainties. Only the arrogant and ignorant know everything and/or think that all player movements and actions are programmed.
Who will win the Cup? Nobody knows. Brazil has made a great plan, has excellent players, has an efficient coach and coaching staff and is at the same level as the other best teams.
The problem is the unpredictable details, which come suddenly. The ball also enters by chance. The coach, in addition to knowledge, sometimes has to act quickly and in a different way than rehearsed. This ability to improvise is one of the main virtues of the stars, in all human activities.
A lost ball, a brilliant move by an ace, a surprising tactical change by the coach, an encounter or a mismatch, an elbow pain, a mistake by the referee, the assistant or the VAR and so many other details change the result of a game, of a Cup, and the history of football.
In the 1970 World Cup, halfway through the second half against England, when the game was still 0-0, I saw striker Roberto getting ready to enter. It could only be in my place. This encouraged me to try an individual shot, which resulted in Jairzinho’s goal. Before the game was restarted, I left, and Roberto entered. For a close second, he could have entered, scored the winning goal and become a starter until winning the title. My World Cup story would be different.
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