I think Brazil could struggle against smaller nations or defensive minded teams. Teams that will sit back. Their attacking play isn't special. Not enough creative passers or one-on-one players. Very reliant on Neymar. Not enough creativity in the team outside of Neymar. Heck, Dani Alves might be the 2nd best creative passer in the team. So not strong in breaking teams down and could be vulnerable against teams willing to sit back and hit them on the break.
I do think Brazil will look much better against stronger teams though. Teams who look to get on the ball and attack Brazil. This Brazil team is made for counter attacking. That midfield of Luiz Gustavo, Paulinho and Oscar are great at shielding their defense and winning back possession. Perfect for counter attack football. Lots of pace throughout the side. Neymar lethal in open space.
So I think Brazil will look better in games against better opponents. In the knockout stages.
On the other side their defense wasn`t that great. Olic was a lot to guard. What will happen against Greizman , Inesta etc ?
What i was last night was a brazilian without any game plan. Their only hope of producing something was via 1on1. I epxected a lot better from a team preparing for the wc the last 2 years.
Croatia was more of a team than Brazil. And the fact that Brazil kept the ball more doesn`t mean they deserved to win. Without this "penalty" i doubt they would have scored.
I agree that they will be better later (it`s a long tournament) but last night Croatia got robbed
I thought their defense was very, very good.
I think it is more their midfield than their backline that gives Brazil such solidity.
* Luiz Gustavo is in the destroyer role. A lot of teams are shying away from a pure destroyer defensive midfielder as they try to get extra passers into the team to improve build up play. I thought L.Gustavo did a great job shielding the backline and is capable of sliding back into a back 3 when Marcelo and Dani Alves go forward which is very important for team's balance.
* Then they have Paulinho who I think is one of the best box-to-box midfielders in the world right now. Again, not a playmaker, not that type of midfielder. More like the typical British box-to-box midfielder who cover huge amounts of space up and down the pitch and contribute both defensively and attacking wise. Very good goal threat from deep runs too.
* Then you have Oscar who is (in my opinion) the best defensive player in the world from that #10 position. His workrate is excellent. Fantastic ball winner. Attacking qualities are more 7/10 but defensive qualities are exceptional.
And I think that is where Brazil's team identity comes from.
From those three central midfielders. There isn't those silky smooth passers or creative types there but there are three physical powerful hard workers. Three highly disciplined and talented defensively capable midfielders who will press all game long, shield the back line and win back possession. Ideal for counter attacking team rather than possession based attack. So I think this is where Brazil are best = in counter attack rather than in possession. Because this is the identity of midfield which creates identity of team.
I would also say that because Brazil plays with wing backs instead of full backs with Marcelo and Dani Alves. I think this leaves their defense more open and makes it look less impressive than it is. This is key to their attacking play though because central midfield lacks creators and forwards (outside of Neymar) are nothing special either. So Brazil need to push wing backs forward to have some balance since they are best creators in team after Neymar and Oscar. Then midfield does great job of shielding and two CBs are both very athletic and mobile and cover space and win a lot of one-on-ones confrontations (rather than defending as defensive line) which I thought both David Luiz and Thiago Silva did very well.
I thought Brazil's defense did a very good job on Croatia. Their midfield stopped skillful midfielders like Rakitic, Modric and Kovacic (all three arguably superior than Brazil's midfielders as creative midfielders) from controlling match. Croatia got in good spaces when attacking in quick transitions (with Olic, Perisic behind wing backs) but they rarely got attempts on goal. I think Julio Cesar only had to make 1-2 saves all night. So many several positions on pitch but rarely followed through by getting goal scoring attempt. Not enough end product from either Olic or Perisic to take advantage. No end product, no goals. They simply weren't clinical enough in final third and Brazil's defenders did a good job of stopping them.
So yes, I think Brazil is very strong defensively but mostly due to it's central midfield. They give their defenders a lot of protection. Defensive backline not brilliant because wing backs push far forward which leaves some gaps. Two CBs do a great job. Overall, very strong. Scolari has gotten the balance right defensively to play with such wing backs.
It's those holes behind their wing backs where Brazil is most vulnerable defensively. Teams that can exploit that will pose biggest threat. Teams that like to play through the middle will struggle though. Brazil flooded the middle of the pitch and made it very difficult for Croatia to keep the ball as they did in Confederations Cup last summer. Their central midfield is a physical powerful unit that is truly excellent when defending.
