For a reason, it’s called a game of two halves.
Brazil could be forgiven for having a bad first half, but not for the second, because that will be the typical ostrich behaviour, which is not acknowledging that there are problems with the team.
It’s totally understandable that it was their first World Cup game, and often teams, no matter how big they are, are not at the height of their powers in their first test. There is pressure, and you are playing in a new country, on a new pitch, and all that does affect a team’s performance. But you still win somehow. That’s how the top teams operate.
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Taking nothing away from Morocco, they are one of the top sides in the world. In the FIFA rankings, they ranked 8th before the game, only two rungs behind Brazil. But the nature of international football is such that two rungs can mean a lot. They are good enough to highlight the big chasm between the teams. Sadly, Brazil didn’t do justice to their higher position in the rankings. Also to their higher quality.
It’s not like they didn’t have many chances in the match. They had had enough; it’s just that in the final third, they failed to perform well. Igor Thiago should have headed that ball in — in the 14th minute. Who misses an opportunity like that in a World Cup match? That was very disappointing. Lucas Paqueta and Raphinha had had their moments too but couldn’t capitalise on those. In terms of ball possession, they just edged Morocco at 51.3%. Not good enough. To make matters worse, they had five shots on target, but only one of them went in.
Vinicius Jr was the best Brazilian player on the night, but in the absence of Neymar, his task was massively cut out. One player is definitely not going to win the World Cup for you, but they can win a match now and then. He could have done a little more. Still, Brazilian fans should be thankful for his equaliser because without that, they would have, for the first time since 1934, lost their World Cup opener.
The United States, for some reason, doesn’t support the Brazilian style of play. Yes, they won the World Cup here in 1994, but other than their quarterfinal 3-2 win against the Netherlands, they were dull in front of goal. In their remaining six games, they scored just 8 goals.
No excuses please!
Some are of the opinion that the pitch at the New Jersey Stadium wasn’t exactly great, and that may have affected Brazil’s performance, but that’s no excuse. Top teams should know how to win, irrespective of how the match conditions are.
Terrible performance by all means. Now the Selecao’s only hope is that Neymar returns to action fully fit when they play Haiti on Saturday night. It’s a long break, and hopefully their highest scorer of all time features in that fully fit. Being fully fit is key. There is no question that Carlo Ancelotti’s side will move into the next round, but on the evidence of their performance against the North African side last night, they don’t look like a unit capable of lifting the World Cup.
