Three Quick Observations On Brazil's Landmark 3-0 Victory Against France In Porto Alegre

Brazil secured their first victory against France since 1992 with a decisive 3-0 victory on Sunday in Porto Alegre. Sunday’s victory represents sweet revenge for Brazil given that they were eliminated by France in the 2006 and 1998 World Cups and additionally lost a hard fought friendly to France in February 2011. The victory means that Brazil marches into the Confederations Cup bursting with confidence because today’s match marked the national team’s first victory over a major European team in roughly three years. Scolari’s team delivered a tantalizing glimpse of Brazil’s attacking potential and ability to command the flanks in an impressive performance rendered all the more memorable because the victory came at the expense of Brazil’s arch-rival France, who were coached by Didier Deschamps, the midfelder who lifted the World Cup trophy after France defeated Brazil 3-0 in the 1998 World Cup final.

With the exception of Marcelo starting for Filipe Luis at left back, Scolari fielded exactly the same team that he started against England, with Neymar, Fred and Hulk spearheading the attack in front in front of Chelsea playmaker Oscar. Brazil almost scored in the first minute when a fumble by France goalkeeper Hugo Lloris meant that Neymar had possession of the ball in a position where the French goalkeeper had come off his line toward the edge of the box. The ball ultimately fell to Oscar, who was stymied by the French defense. Brazil had the lion’s share of chances in the first half, with Hulk, Neymar, Fred, Marcelo and Oscar attacking down the flanks in a strategy that dispensed of attacking straight down the middle of the park, and instead focused on delivering crosses into the box from wide positions.

Three key points about Brazil’s strategy today are worth noting as preparations begin in earnest for the kickoff of the Confederations Cup on June 15:

•Brazil played today in a variant of a 4-3-3 formation, specifically, a 4-2-1-3, with Paulinho and Luiz Gustavo positioned behind Oscar. Scolari likes the idea of two holding midfielders as opposed to one. In today’s match, Paulinho and Luiz Gustavo rarely joined the attack and played the ball laterally instead of forward, allowing the fullbacks to own the attacking jaunt toward goal. The main consequence of Paulinho and Gustavo’s static quality was that we saw Neymar and Oscar drop deep into midfield to collect the ball and surge forward. Neymar, in particular, lurked around center circle more than Brazil fans would like, and exploded down the left flank through beating Mathieu Debuchy and team with sheer pace.

•Scolari unleashed Brazil’s trademark flank attack in this match, and the move paid dividends in glorious fashion. Scolari’s emphasis on the flank attack differs significantly from his predecessor Mano Menezes, who focused on attacking down the center in a Barcelona-style, possession-based build up toward goal. Against France, Marcelo functioned as an auxiliary attacker, as did Dani Alves, although Hulk owned most of the flank attack on the right flank. Scolari’s move to free up the fullbacks restores Brazilian football to its roots with respect to the practice of stretching defenses such that they essentially confront five attackers instead of two or three.

•Brazil’s bench is bursting with talent to the point where Scolari can field two squads of roughly the same strength even assuming two to three injuries. In today’s match we saw Dante, Hernanes, Bernard, Fernando and Lucas all come on as substitutes, and if anything, the rhythm of the match went into a higher gear as the bevy of substitutes took the field. This was the first match where we have seen Dante, Thiago Silva and David Luiz all on the field at the same time, leaving many to wonder whether Scolari will eventually shift to the 2002 formation where he used three fullbacks in the form of Edmilson, Roque Junior and Lucio in order to free up the 2002 World Cup fullbacks Roberto Carlos and Cafu.

The significance of this victory is not to be underestimated even though this was a friendly. France have had Brazil’s number over the last 15 years and this match proved that Brazil’s youthful squad can win against a former World Cup champion. The buildup to all three goals by Oscar, Hernanes and Lucas was vintage with short, crisp passing from the flanks leading to possession in the box that led to goals. Buoyed by today’s victory, Brazil open their defense of the Confederations Cup with a match against Japan on Saturday, June 15. They then play Mexico and Italy in what are expected to be highly challenging matches that will severely test the ability of the Selecao to win a major win tournament roughly a year away from the 2014 World Cup’s kickoff in Sao Paulo.

Kaka Signals Return To Form With Goal Against Real Betis

Kaka delivered yet another inspired performance for Real Madrid this season by scoring Madrid’s second goal against Real Betis, finding teammate Gonzalo Higuain and threatening the Real Betis goal in other moments. In the 59th minute, Cristiano Ronaldo raced down the left side of the pitch and passed to an unmarked Kaka in the box who unleashed a curling strike to the keeper’s left with accuracy and conviction. Kaka was man of the match in the Real Madrid’s September 27 Champions League victory against Ajax where he scored one goal and set up Karim Benzema for another. He also impressed in last week’s 4-0 victory against Espanyol. Kaka’s resurgence of form will give Mano Menezes plenty to think as Brazil’s midfield is now bursting with talents such as Ronaldinho, Lucas Moura, Hernanes, Oscar and Fernandinho.

Brazil Defeat Costa Rica 1-0 As Mano's Midfield Experiment Continues

Brazil carved out an unimpressive 1-0 victory against Costa Rica on Friday thanks to a goal by Neymar. Despite a dominant performance against Argentina in the second leg of the Superclasico, coach Mano Menezes stayed true to form by juggling the Brazilian starting line-up. Most interesting about Brazil’s formation was Menezes’s midfield pairing of Ralf and Luiz Gustavo, behind Ronaldinho, Lucas Moura da Silva and Neymar. Fred started the match as the lone striker. Manchester United's Fabio earned his first cap as Brazil right back while Barcelona's Adriano took up the left back position.

Costa Rica threatened in the first ten minutes and episodically throughout the match as well, but Brazil gradually found their rhythm and began stringing together combination passes in midfield in the second half. The goal came in the 60th minute from a Dani Alves cross that skirted by the onrushing Fred, and then bounced into the path of Neymar who poached the ball into the back of the net for his second consecutive goal in the yellow jersey. Twelve minutes later, Brazil had yet another chance when some deft midfield combination play allowed Ronaldinho to lob the ball to Fred, who headed a difficult ball that the Costa Rican keeper Navas saved. The ball subsequently ended up back near the top of the box, from which Neymar’s curling shot caromed off the top of the post.

For all of Brazil’s critics, and there were plenty after a match like this, Brazil’s midfield is starting to gel in a distinctly Brazilian fashion that bears little resemblance to European football. Oscar and Hernanes replaced Luiz Gustavo and Lucas Moura at halftime in a substitution that revealed the depth of Mano Menezes’s options in the center of the park. Fans should begin to relinquish the expectation that Brazil will stick to a rigidly tactical formation. Mano is slowly but surely building a squad that switches positions and attacks through the midfield, alongside the traditional counter-attacking flank attack. The flank attack remains powerful, as evinced by Dani Alves’s role in Neymar’s goal, but Mano’s immediate investment is clearly around building a group of 6-8 midfielders such as Lucas Leiva, Ramires, Ralf, Luis Gustavo, Oscar, Hernanes, Lucas Moura, Jadson and Ganso that can maintain possession and substitute for one another throughout a difficult tournament such as the World Cup. Mano’s next problem is scoring more goals, but for now, he evidently believes that the midfield is where Brazil has had its problems since 2002.

Brazil Defeats Argentina 2-0 in Superclasico

Brazil won the Superclasico against Argentina 2-0 thanks to goals by Lucas Moura and Neymar in a sparkling performance that handed embattled coach Mano Menezes a much needed victory. The Selecao played typical samba football while maintaining control over the run of play from all inches of the field. True to their samba roots, Brazil avoided any kind of rigid formation. The offensive quintet of Ronaldinho, Lucas Moura, Neymar and Borges meandered all over the field. Lucas Moura, in particular, impressed with exceptional speed, dribbling ability, positional awareness, vision and balance.

In the 54th minute, Brazil opened the scoring on the counter-attack from an elegant through ball from left back Bruno Cortes, to Borges, to Danilo and finally through to the onrushing Lucas. Lucas latched onto the ball, got away from his defender and delivered a clinical finish past the goalkeeper’s right hand to give Brazil a 1-0 lead. Twenty minutes later, Bruno Cortes joined the attack once again, this time bursting forward from his left back position and slipping the ball to substitute Diego Souza, who in turn found Neymar in the box. Neymar hustled the ball past the goal line in the 75th minute to make it 2-0.

Brazil gave their home fans a lively performance that affirmed Mano Menezes’s investment in testing less experienced players in high profile friendlies. Lucas Moura da Silva was by far the man of the match and may well emerge as a contender to replace Paulo Henrique Ganso in the center of Brazil’s attacking midfield given Ganso’s spate of injuries and disappointing form at the international level. Brazil dominated the match from the outset and imposed their style of play without appearing predictable or decipherable in any way. Neymar played on both flanks while Borges took the brunt of stern Argentine defending near the box. Ronaldinho played deep in midfield and had a quiet game, save for his influence in calming the team and giving his young squad the confidence to play as team captain. Fans should expect more appearances from Lucas Moura, Bruno Cortes and Danilo in upcoming friendlies.