Breaking Down How Brazil Toppled Spain

For the first time in 29 games Spain are beaten. Brazil's Maracana rocked as their heroes beat the unbeatables and filled them with hopes of doing the same a year from now to bring the World Cup back to its spiritual home. So let's break down how they did it.

Brazil dominated from the outset, scoring inside three minutes. Taking advantage of Jordi Alba's lack of size, David Luiz floats a diagonal ball towards Hulk who's drifted out wide.

With a physicality somewhat resembling his namesake, Hulk bullies the little Spaniard and after a fortuitous ricochet, picks out a dangerous ball. Another lucky deflection off Neymar's leg later, and Fred has the ball in the net.

After a matter of minutes two themes were evident while not in possession: pressure and physicality.

The hosts denied Spain the ability to take short goal-kicks and when Iker Casillas had the ball in general.

Look at this example with Brazil's three forward players denying Spain an easy route out of their half.

This denial was persistent but it's only part of the battle against the Spanish machine. When Spain had the ball Brazil were relentless in their pressure, closing down Spain in the midfield. They denied them their neat triangular passing game by throwing bodies into Spain's own half. This created turnovers and immediate pressure on Spain's defence.

See this example of three Brazilians converging on Andres Iniesta. Brazil stole the ball and ultimately this led to an ambitious yet admirable chip attempt. Brazil actually had a four-on-four and at the end of this attack Neymar and Hulk both waved their arms in frustration, clearly wanting to create a better shot attempt from the opportunity.

The next real flashpoint of the game comes from a Spain corner which culminates in a booking for Alvaro Arbeloa .This is tactically brilliant from Brazil. With Spain struggling to create chances they push their centre-backs froward at the corner. However, this being Spain and all, they refuse to simply lump the ball into the danger zone and instead go short to try and create a better angle.

As you can see from this still, Brazil do a great job sending three men at the Spanish, and they ultimately force a turnover. From here Brazil are gone with all of those three sprinting off without a thought of holding the ball and settling the pace. They also leave two guys up the pitch including Neymar who joins in the race to the other end of the pitch. When the ball is played in for him to chase, Arbeloa gets a piece of him and brings him down.

As you look at it from this angle Brazil actually have a 4-on-3, all flying like the wind up the pitch. Despite seeing these press-and-go tactics multiple times at this point in the match, Spain still have no answer for it.

With 20 minutes played the themes of this match were firmly set. Brazil played with a designed chipiness, pressuring Spain on the ball and putting a yellow wall between Spanish passing lanes. They focus particularly on their central three (Xavi, Iniesta and Busquets). I wouldn’t describe it as dirty but they were also happy to foul spain in their half or even in their own half on some occasions, knowing Spain lack the size to threaten at free kicks and after the counter-attack from the corner, potentially reluctant to throw bodies into the box. A perfect example of this is this Sergio Ramos free-kick attempt.

The chances of scoring from here are somewhere between once in a blue moon and never in a million years. We’ve grown used to seeing this Spanish team playing with a ruthless efficiency and grinding pressure. This effort is ill-advised and wasteful but shows further the frustration in the World and European champions.

As the half wore on, Spain even start trying lofted balls into an isolated, marked Fernando Torres. When can you ever remember any of the holy trinity (Barcelona, Real Madrid, Spain) resorting to this.

As the half wears on Spain looked increasingly desperate. When they finally get a spell of sustained pressure, winning a corner and two free-kicks in the final third within the space of a few minutes, they get stung by not learning from their mistakes. After a corner is initially cleared, the Brazilians try to spring free almost identically to when they drew a booking from Arbeloa earlier. However the ball isn’t as good and they lose possession. Spain see this as a chance to catch the hosts out and leave virtually everyone forward. After Sergio Ramos accomplishes approximately nothing showing off his 2 star Fifa tricks, Jordi Alba plays a dire pass giving possession back to Brazil with all of the players they had trying to create a counter-attack still up the pitch, with most of Spain’s players still hanging in and around Brazil’s penalty box.

Brazil break furiously again and this time Neymar plays in Fred for a one-on one.

He should score here. Spain get off lucky.

With five minutes to go before half-time, Spain finally made an adjustment. After slowing Brazil’s rapid attacking pace they steal possession and rather than dogmatically resetting their short passing game, they recognise Marcelo and Dani Alves are out of position and initiate a lethal two-man break led by Juan Mata, mimicking Brazil.

Mata, closed down by David Luiz, plays in Pedro who slides the ball past Julio Cesar only for Luiz, who played like Superman on steroids all night, to hustle back, fling himself and clear improbably off the line.

At this point, only a goal down and having just sliced their opponents open, Spain probably thought they were still very much in this game and they were.

What followed however meant they weren’t for very long.

After squeezing through the Spanish midfield, Oscar plays in Neymar down the inside left channel.

After being faced up by Arbeloa, with some help from Gerard Pique, Neymar plays the ball back inside to Oscar who’s now caught up with the play.

No biggie.

 However what happens next is inexplicable. Rather than sticking with Neymar, you know the most dangerous guy on the pitch, Arbeloa follows with the ball inside, despite the fact the defenders inside him appear to have things covered.

Oscar and Neymar can’t believe their luck and the Chelsea man gives it back to an open Neymar, who does the rest.

Just before half-time, this was the biggest moment of the match. It’s also a massive brain fart by Arbeloa who Neymar will no doubt be licking his lips to have another go at in a Barca shirt.

Arbeloa’s services weren’t required for the second half.

As poorly as the first half ended for Spain, the second started similarly.

While Spain’s right-back was taken of for being a lame duck, Brazil’s left-back is flying around the pitch like a hungry hawk.

Marcelo, often a high-risk, high-reward kind of player, reaps the benefits of his maverick style of play by roaming infield, intercepting a pass and squeezing it into the path of Hulk.

Although the defender formerly known as Alvaro Arbeloa is gone Brazil continue to attack down the left and his replacement, Cesar Azpilicueta (yes I did have to google how to spell that) is helpless to anything about this delicious dummy by Neymar. 

First the ball is going to him.

Then it’s not.

Then it’s in the net.

Genius.

Despite scoring their third goal Brazil kept playing with an incredible energy.

Here we see Dani Alves, much like Marcelo earlier is pressing deep in Spanish territory and making life hell for his native teammates. This is impressive stuff, especially when three goals to the good where coasting is standard. 

The reason Alves and Marcello are able to play so far up the pitch so confidently is because of the range of their centre-backs. Brazil spent all game teasing Spain to play long through balls because David Luiz and Thiago Silva are two of the rangiest central defenders in the game and were able to sweep up anything that pinballed it’s way through the congestion in front of them.

Although Spain were blown out of the Maracana, what may be most frustrating is seeing what could have been.

Immediately after Alves’ pesky intervention Vincente Del Bosque summoned Jesus Navas who was the perfect foil to Brazil’s plan.

An out and out winger, Navas instantly offered Spain width. This meant that as Brazil’s midfielders squeezed Spain’s already narrow midfield, Navas provided Xavi and company an outlet who had the space to run at defenders. 

From this ball Navas charged into the box and won a penalty. The penalty decision was questionable but the decision to bring on Navas proved that an alternative team selection could have resulted in a closer game.

Ramos’ subsequent penalty miss (really? you have Sergio Ramos taking your penalties) was pretty befitting of Spain’s performance but was due reward for Brazil’s work-rate and discipline.

Everything that followed Ramos’ miss was pretty moot. Both teams sauntered to a finish and Brazil celebrated a great victory, not least because of the political turbulence surrounding the match.

Gerard Pique got sent off because he literally couldn’t be bothered any more and probably spent the closing minutes snuggled up in Shakira’s arms as she sang him a lullaby.

In terms of this match overall, we shouldn’t overreact to the result. Brazil won this game by feeding of the crowd’s energy, swarming the middle of the pitch like insects around a light bulb and utilising their swift attacking flair on the counter. Unless you play with this intensity Spain will have you chasing shadows for 90 minutes and ultimately despatch you without a sniff of victory. However for the teams that possess this kind of sharpness (the likes Germany, Argentina and Netherlands spring to mind) what Brazil have done is provide a template as to how to dethrone this decade’s footballing monolith.