The World Cup is approaching its end (four games to go) and four countries are still fighting for the FIFA Cup. Brazil is not one of them. It fell on penalties, against Croatia, on Friday (9).
Whenever the Brazilian team is eliminated from a World Cup, commentators/analysts/journalists look for an explanation, or more than one, why this happened.
In the mind of the Brazilian, not being at least in the final is a disaster, a tragedy, a 7 to 1. Something inconceivable, difficult to chew, swallow and digest.
After all, Brazil is the most victorious in Cups (five), the only one to have played in all Cups (22), the one that played the most matches in Cups (114), the one that won the most matches in Cups (76), which more goals scored in Cups (237).
We are the best. We are the country of football. How did we not win?
We didn’t win because football is not an exact science and because the World Cup, with its knockout rounds starting in the round of 16, balances forces. Invariably there is a surprise, or more than one.
In this Cup, that of Qatar, the fall of Brazil in an elimination match was not the only one of a favorite. There was Spain, who stopped in Morocco, also on penalties, after thrilling with a 7-0 in the debut against Costa Rica. Ditto Portugal, stopped in Morocco.
Tite’s team (which is now no longer Tite’s) came to life when they thrashed South Korea in the round of 16, after a not very auspicious first phase (difficult victories over Serbia and Switzerland and defeat to Cameroon, this one with spared starters). .
Ephemeral animation, lasting three days. Against the Croatians, the team failed again in the aspect that, in my opinion, was decisive for leaving the Cup: the lack of goals.
Obvious, the reader will say. Football is a ball in the net, right?
The point is that, making an adaptation with the famous phrase of Chacrinha, the Old Warrior, “who does not finish (well) is trumbica”.
In this World Cup, Brazil, despite being a creator and finisher (one cannot accuse the team of not incessantly seeking the goal), had a tremendous difficulty –with the exception of the first half of the duel with the South Koreans– of “coming out to embrace”. Or, in the case of this selection, “go out for a little dance”.
Against Croatia, goal attempts swarmed. According to Opta (British sports statistics company), Brazil has finished 21 times. Eleven, or more than half, had the right direction, but only one ball went in.
Goalkeeper Livakovic stood out, as did goalkeepers Milinkovic-Savic (Serbia), Sommer (Switzerland) and Epassy (Cameroon).
However, who makes the goalkeeper the name of the game is the attacker. As much as the goalkeeper is good, most of the balls he defends are the ones that go towards him (some even accept those, becoming chickens). The goalkeeper almost always plays centrally. If the ball goes strong, in the corner, he hardly saves.
Livakovic made a dozen saves, but none spectacular, from the ball that was in the angle. Neymar (it’s easy to blame him, but it’s not just him), Vinicius Junior, Lucas Paquetá, Casemiro (already at the end of extra time), all of them finished badly, on top of the Croatian number 1. The demerit goes to the one who kicked it.
The Tite era ends somewhat “déjà vu”. In the 2018 World Cup, in the defeat to Belgium in that same phase, the quarterfinals, the selection finished 27 times, nine of them in the direction of the goal, and only once the ball went in. Courtois made two great saves, the rest was down to the Brazilians’ incompetence.
A new coach will arrive, perhaps Neymar will no longer be present (for me, he will be, as he will want to surpass Pelé’s number of goals for the national team), some players should no longer be called up, and others, younger ones, will remain or arrive.
It will be a priority on the way to the 2026 World Cup, when Brazil will complete 24 years without lifting the cup (equaling the fast from 1970 to 1994), in addition to maintaining the high number of kicks (or headers) on goal, hitting the foot (or the head).
Is there a way to do this? There will have to be, or in the Cup in North America the evaluation will be similar to that of now: “We were better, but we lacked goals. We lost”.
As a seasoned news journalist, I bring a wealth of experience to the field. I’ve worked with world-renowned news organizations, honing my skills as a writer and reporter. Currently, I write for the sports section at News Bulletin 247, where I bring a unique perspective to every story.
