Living on Legacy: Brazil's World Cup Problem

    

     Every four years, teams from across the globe take the stage to compete at the World Cup. Brazil always arrive at this tournament surrounded by expectation. Five-time winners, stars throughout the squad, and the ‘joga bonito’ identity that the world admires mean that expectations are always high for the Seleção. Despite its talent, Brazil will likely struggle in North America for many reasons.

    Brazil used to be one of the most feared teams on the planet, but since winning the tournament for the fifth time in 2002, the aura around them has dwindled and almost disappeared. A humiliating 7-1 collapse against Germany in 2014, in their own home, was enough to destroy the aura Brazil had left. Following that, exits to Belgium in 2018 and Croatia in 2022 have reinforced the idea that Brazil can be beaten under pressure.

    Brazil continues to produce elite talent, but in moments, they often rely on individuals rather than the team. Take their defeat to Croatia in 2022, for example: despite a dominant performance that saw them take 20 shots, only Neymar scored. The ‘Prince’ was then let down by his teammates, conceding late and finally losing in the penalty shootout. Knockout football often favours the teams that work well, rather than the individuals.

    Not only do they rely on individuals, but whilst Brazil churn out attacking talent, they struggle to be stable defensively. Whilst they do have one of the best centre-back pairings in the world, they lack world-class talent at full-back and have an ageing midfield. Fabinho and Casemiro simply cannot keep up with the pace of games against more athletic opponents. Against Morocco, Brazil could not compete with the likes of Ounahi, El Aynaoui, and rising star Bouaddi, and that trend will likely continue if they face Portugal or England. Even against the rough-and-tumble Scots, there is a chance their midfield will struggle to keep up.

    Brazil used to have a clear technical advantage over many European nations, but that is no longer the case. France, Spain, England and Portugal are stacked with technical players and are often tactically superior. Brazil are no longer coming into tournaments with a clear edge and sometimes comes in as an underdog.

    Brazil have recently struggled in tournaments, revealing a very worrying pattern. Whilst often performing well in the group stage and always progressing, they struggle when facing truly elite opposition in the knockout rounds. The margin for error at such a high level is tiny, and Brazil have repeatedly found ways to lose games they are expected to win.

    Whilst Brazil has enough talent to win the World Cup, and writing them off would be foolish, one can’t deny that they are definitely not one of the favourites for the tournament. Brazil’s weaknesses are often overlooked because of the yellow shirt. Still, unless they can prove they can instil more discipline in their team, another quarter-final, or maybe even a round of 16, exit looks far more likely than a sixth World Cup title.