Brazil vs. Ecuador: Dunga's Philosophy Takes Shape as Selecao Win Again

Brazil beat Ecuador 1-0 in front of a lively MetLife Stadium crowd on Monday evening, and in doing so made it a pair of 1-0 victories for Dunga to start his managerial reign.

Willian scored a neat goal after a clever, intricate free-kick routine, and Neymar somehow hit the bar from a yard in the second half. Everton Ribeiro and Enner Valencia both went close, too, with the latter hitting the post.

Let's take a tactical look at how the game played out.

Cautious Ecuador

The first few seconds on the pitch revealed Ecuador's formation to be a 4-2-3-1, marking a change from the FIFA World Cup 2014 campaign of strictly 4-4-1-1/4-4-2.

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In reality, though, it was still the same stifling, careful philosophy, with La Tri opting against any form of high pressing and instead allowing Brazil to have the ball at the back.

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Marquinhos and Miranda saw a lot of it, but they weren't able to make any penetrative passes early on as Ecuador's front four fanned out to block the passing lanes. 

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Luiz Gustavo and Ramires were essentially swamped out in their zones, and we even saw Oscar coming all the way back to Miranda's patch to pick up the ball and go, trying to initiate something.

Juan Carlos Paredes

Ecuador attacked almost exclusively through Paredes, the right-back, in the first half.

Dunga had instructed his men to nullify Enner Valencia quickly and efficiently, leaving him double- or even triple-marked with frequency and rendering him ineffectual.

With Gustavo and Ramires both focused on closing the space around Valencia and dispossessing him as early as possible, it left room on the flanks for Paredes to meander forward and hurtle toward Filipe Luis.

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The Chelsea man handled the one vs. one very well, matching him for pace and blocking early crosses with aplomb, but Paredes found daylight a few times.

Bombing forward he's physical and fast, and his love for the killer ball in behind the defence saw him slip his attackers through a few times. Valencia smashing the post from an angle in the first half was all Paredes in the build-up.

Classic Dunga

Substitutions, as usual, killed the flow of the game in the second half, but we emerge with a feeling of "Classic Dunga" following another economical 1-0 win.

The way Gustavo and Ramires operated as a holding midfield duo was very reminiscent of how Gilberto Silva and Felipe Melo operated in 2010—albeit with less skill—and under Dunga, you can tell the middle of the park will be locked down in every game. It's a staple of his play.

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Ramires also offered counter-attacking speed and muscle, lending to his new boss' style, and it feels like the Chelsea man could well have a role carved out for himself based on the first two games.

Ecuador made it difficult for Brazil to play in their preferred counter-attacking style and it sucked the life out of the game in patches, but the 180 minutes played over the last week stands as a building block for Dunga's plans.

New faces, such as the lively Everton Ribeiro, offer fresh hope in the short-term, too.

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