Brazil’s Samba beat was out of rhythm in their opening draw against Switzerland – cranking up that pressure just a touch more for a side desperate to erase memories of a World Cup horror show in their own house four years ago.
Neymar is still searching for fitness and form ahead of their clash with Group E underdogs Costa Rica in St Petersburg (Friday, 16:00).
As Los Ticos showed during their narrow defeat against Serbia, the spirit that saw them reach the quarter-finals in 2014 is still very much alive.
Below, we select three key tactical points to take a particular interest in on Friday.
LEFT IN THE WILDERNESS
Brazil’s draw with Switzerland exposed a problem that is more often than not masked by the brilliance of Neymar, Philippe Coutinho and Marcelo – the imbalance between the left and right-hand side of attack.
Marcelo took an incredible 109 touches against the Swiss, 19 clear of second-best Philippe Coutinho. The Real Madrid star is more of a wide forward than wing-back but even still, most touchline-huggers see nowhere near that much of the ball.
Brazil force-feed him on that flank in hope of an overload with Neymar while Coutinho threads the needle a touch behind. Wily veterans Stephan Lichtsteiner and Valon Behrami delivered fine flair-stopping displays but in truth they had to do little guesswork.
On the other side, the loss of Dani Alves is acutely felt as Danilo offers little to nothing from right-back and Willian has no complement for his often direct running.
Though a box-to-box Paulinho sits further back to accommodate Marcelo and Co’s tendencies, against an ultra-defensive Costa Rica, Tite should let him loose and bulk up those options on the right.
TWO STRIKES, JESUS IS OUT?
This publication issued a warning to Gabriel Jesus ahead of the opener and the Canarinha collar will feel that little tighter around his neck heading into this one.
The Manchester City starlet was sloppy in possession with poor touches and completed just 60 per cent of his passes, which is less than ideal for a player who nominally plays central but roams the channels too.
Roberto Firmino, not exactly a lightbulb off the bench, nevertheless turned up the brightness a touch. The Liverpool striker didn’t give the ball away in his 25 minutes and managed two shots compared to Jesus’ solitary effort.
Firmino’s forte is bringing others into play and Tite will be considering a swifter introduction on Friday. If there’s one more bum note from Jesus, he could face the music.
NO LET UP ON NEYMAR
Los Ticos centre midfielders Celso Borges and David Guzman will have took notes from Behrami the bruiser’s display against the Selecao and more specifically Neymar.
Still tireless off the ball despite his 34 years, the Udinese man took calculated risks in dealing with Neymar and friends. Honest tackles (five) were mixed in with blatant fouls (four) before Swiss coach Vladimir Petkovic decided a yellow-carded Behrami could call it a job well done in the 70th minute.
Borges and Guzman also dispensed some rough justice in defeat to Serbia – particularly the latter who racked up four in the tackle column and also drew the referee’s whistle four times.
Neymar is still not up to full speed while Switzerland also dealt him an ankle knock. Costa Rica shouldn’t just think of it as roughing him up, though – the more frustrated the PSG star gets, the more tunnel vision is a problem as he simply tries to do too much.
