Brazil Set to Put Dour World Cup Performances Behind Them Brazil Have Veered Away from the Great, Attacking Traditions
Established 1961 27 Sports Tuesday, June 12, 2018 Brazil set to put dour World Cup performances behind them Brazil have veered away from the great, attacking traditions VIENNA: If anything summed up Brazil’s new approach come out playing,” he said after Sunday’s game, the last under coach Tite, it was his celebration of the fact that before their opening Group E game against Switzerland on they committed only eight fouls in Sunday’s 3-0 friendly June 17. win over Austria. At the last two World Cups, Brazil have Under Tite, Brazil have regained the swagger that has veered away from the great, attacking traditions that used been missing from recent World Cup squads. The individ- to make them the team that everyone wanted to watch. ual talent is there as always but the team are better bal- The 2010 side, under anced than their unloved Dunga, was packed with mid- recent predecessors. field spoilers and looked to The defence is solid, the catch opponents on the count- forwards are lethal when they er-attack, or from set pieces. Sixty percent get a sniff of goal and they They lost in the quarter-finals. have the patience to unlock Four years later, playing as of our goals are the most stubborn defences. hosts under Luiz Felipe Scolari, Brazil have won 17 of their 21 Brazil were overly dependent scored in the games since Tite took over on Neymar as they muddled two years ago and lost only their way through to the semi- second half once. They have scored 47 finals before losing 7-1 to goals, conceded five and kept Germany, when he was injured.
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