History in the World Cup:
Brazil , the five time champions need no introduction. They're the most successful team in the history of the world cup ,with their most recent triumph coming in 2002. However , after their 2002 success , they've been eliminated twice in the quarterfinals and once in the semi-finals in 2014 in that game. They ended up finishing fourth in 2014 after losing to Netherlands in the third place playoff.
Current Form:
They have won 6 , drawn 3 and lost 1 of their last 10 games , scoring 17 and conceding 3 in the process. They have looked much more solid defensively under Tite , which hasn't always been the case over the years. There remains the feeling that they are capable of more , particularly in an attacking sense considering their star-studded forward line of Neymar , Jesus , Willian , Firmino and Coutinho. They should comfortably win this group.
Squad:
GOALKEEPERS: Alisson (Roma), Ederson (Manchester City), Cassio (Corinthians).
DEFENDERS: Danilo (Manchester City), Fagner (Corinthians), Marcelo (Real Madrid), Filipe Luis (Atletico Madrid), Thiago Silva, Marquinhos (both Paris St-Germain), Miranda (Inter Milan) Pedro Geromel (Gremio).
MIDFIELDERS: Casemiro (Real Madrid), Fernandinho (Manchester City), Paulinho (Barcelona), Fred (Shakhtar Donetsk), Renato Augusto (Beijing Guoan), Philippe Coutinho (Barcelona), Willian (Chelsea), Douglas Costa (Juventus).
FORWARDS: Neymar Jr (Paris St-Germain), Taison (Shakhtar Donetsk), Gabriel Jesus (Manchester City), Roberto Firmino (Liverpool).
Key Player:
Thiago Silva: Brazil’s multi-talented forward line and robust midfield are good enough to beat most teams but it is their defence which holds the key to them going deep into the tournament. With Marcelo and Fagner/Danilo flying forward from their full-back positions , there will inevitably be spaces left behind for the opposition forwards to exploit. This is where Thiago Silva , their experienced 33-year old Centre Back is key. He'll be expected to organize the defence and provide a calming presence ,especially as the tournament enters the latter stages. He was sorely missed as the defence fell apart in the 7-1 mauling at the hands of the Germans in 2014.
Current Rankings
FIFA :
Current - 2
Highest - 1
ELO :
Current - 1
Highest - 1
