Costa Rica stunned Brazil in Copa America, limiting the Selecao to a scoreless draw
Mention the word “champion” or the phrase “the best” when discussing men’s international soccer, and you often conjure one word: Brazil. The Selecao is a nation of footballing heritage – from Zico and Pele to Ronaldo Fenomeno and recently, Neymar Jr.
An elite powerhouse of a nation that strikes fear into the hearts of their opponents.
Long gone are those days, it seems. Long gone is the Selecao of old. This roster has no identity, it has no romance to the beat of their boots. There’s nothing powerful about the way this team plays.
There’s no other way to describe Brazil’s performance against Costa Rica Monday in a 0-0 draw than disappointing. There was a severe lack of identity, no leadership on the pitch, no desire – from anyone. This was an inconspicuous start for a tournament favorite.
Sure, a few calls did not go their way, including a mysterious VAR decision. Yet, in the grand scheme of things, those do not matter.
Monday night was an amateur-hour performance from the Selecao. Nobody was good enough. Neither Vinicius Jr or Rodrygo had a single shot on target.
The Selecao has always had world-class players, and they’ve led the way, but their supporting cast on the pitch has also been held to a standard damn-near-close to those of superstars.
It was disappointment all around, and newly-appointed Dorival Junior on the touchline must certainly include himself in that conversation.
So it’s on to Paraguay in game two of Copa America, but Monday was a match that showed every flaw this roster has – and that means risk for the remainder of this tournament.
GOAL rates Brazil’s players from SoFi Stadium.
Source link : https://www.goal.com/en-gh/lists/brazil-player-ratings-costa-rica-vinicius-junior-rodrygo-selecao-copa-america/blt770bd8b82770c625
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Publish date : 2024-06-24 23:30:32
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