Tite’s men could not have come into the contest with their heads help any higher after annihilating a hapless Peru 5-0. The veteran coach tinkered with the front line, giving starlets Everton and Gabriel Jesus the stage to grab the limelight in place of starters, David Neres and Richarlison.
The Man City striker huffed and puffed and ultimately, fluffed his lines from 12 yards in a day that just seemed cursed. Everton, however, stole the headlines with yet another rocket from outside the box and made life hell for Peruvian right-back, Luis Advincula.
Staying with the conversation about full-backs, Dani Alves capped a captain’s display with a stunning finish. Another positive was Roberto Firmino who assured his position as the starting striker with a simple goal and a sumptuous assist.
The Samba Boys have grown from strength to strength in the competition, starting from their Phillippe Coutinho-inspired victory over Bolivia, with a blip against Venezuela to ultimately call the shots against Peru.
Paraguay, on the contrary, enter the clash as outright underdogs. While their history against the Brazilians will inspire them without a doubt, the world of difference between the two teams on show is crystal clear.
Qualifying as the best third-placed side in the last 8, Eduardo Berizzo’s side showed bottle against Argentina with a brilliant 1-1 draw, however, their 2-2 draw against Qatar shows their topsy turvy nature as a team.
Newcastle United’s Miguel Almiron’s individual brilliance against Argentina will have to make a comeback as he has the game of his life to drag his country past the highest scoring team in the competition. Even then, Brazil simply have too much quality on deck.
Paraguay is a side with heart, but when everything is said and done, it is difficult to look past a Selecao side that has a lionhearted crowd’s backing to spur them on.
Prediction: Brazil 4-0 Paraguay
0 votes
