When was the last time Brazil was this poor?

Brazil’s shootout loss against Uruguay was two things — dull and morbid. Without star player Vinicius, out through yellow card suspension, and Neymar, who injured his knee in March, Brazil looked utterly lost as they battled to a stale 0-0 draw with Uruguay.

Without the two, Brazil looked predictable and stale. The team couldn’t use their teenage phenom Endrick, who was stranded between a physical backline and only completed two passes. The team’s double pivot in Joao Gomes and Bruno Guimaraes looked unconfident when passing the ball forward.

Lucas Paquetá looked like the only creative player on the field, the only one who looked upfield and generated chances. It made for a dull game of Brazil swinging the ball to the wing and crossing it into the box or simply taking long shots from 30 yards out. Brazil was tentative and dull.

And it seemed morbid to watch Uruguay, nearly 30 minutes removed from losing a defender through a red card, confidently stroll past Brazil in penalties. It felt like the risk-taking, samba-style Brazil squad we saw recently at the World Cup was dead. Brazil focused on controlling the ball and drawing chances through set-piece situations, not traditional squads’ winding dribbles and flair. Manuel Ugarte’s confident penalty not only put Uruguay through to the semifinals but shattered Brazil’s identity.

Loss evokes memories of Mineirazo

There will never be a more brutal loss for Brazil in recent memory than that Saturday in 2014. Brazil’s 7-1 loss against Germany is one of the most tragic, embarrassing losses in the history of soccer. It was their biggest defeat ever and a national embarrassment. They were fundamentally picked apart in the World Cup semi-finals in front of 58,000 rabid fans.

Although Brazil was missing captain Thiago Silva and star player Neymar, they started the match well with a period of back-and-forth play. However, they lost control after Thomas Muller scored within the first 20…

Source link : https://worldsoccertalk.com/copa-america/when-was-the-last-time-brazil-was-this-poor/

Author : Deolu Akingbade

Publish date : 2024-07-09 01:31:21

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