Gabriel Jesus Faces Big Test of Character as Brazil Look to Knock Down Argentina
Amid the monotony that is international football, certain games stick out like diamonds in the rough. There aren’t many, as very little can lift the stupor that descends over the world’s footballing fanbase once a break in club action is signalled, but we’re about to be treated to one.
Brazil vs. Argentina, a staple in the footballing calendar no matter your location, kicks off Thursday, November 10, at 9.45 p.m. local time in Belo . It pits two age-old enemies against one another in a crucial CONMEBOL World Cup 2018 qualifier in the race to reach Russia—a race, it must be said, Argentina are falling behind in.
TOP NEWS
Madrid Fines Players $590K 😲
'Mbappé Out' Petition Gaining Steam 😳
Star-Studded World Cup Ad 🤩
The latest iteration of this clash comes with myriad points of intrigue. Both appointed new managers following Copa America disappointment (to varying degrees), and both new men have had four games in which to instil their philosophies. Brazil have won all four, but Argentina have only won one.
Edgardo Bauza’s task at the helm of La Albiceleste has been made all the more difficult by the absence of talisman Lionel Messi for three of those four qualifiers. The only game he played in, against Uruguay, he scored and they won 1-0.
Conversely, Brazil’s talisman Neymar has played three of four games under Dunga’s successor Tite, but the 24-year-old hasn’t been the heartbeat of the side as he was before. It’s arguable a Selecao side has never, ever been more reliant on one player as they were on Neymar under Luiz Felipe Scolari and Dunga, though, so this is not seen as a negative.
With Messi back and fit, and Argentina trailing Brazil by five points and sitting outside the five CONMEBOL spots that qualify for Russia, the pressure on Bauza’s men doubles. Not only is this a rivalry match for the ages, it’s a must-win for the visitors if they’re to get their qualification campaign back on track.
Brazil
Tite has utilised a 4-1-4-1 formation in each of his four games in charge of the Selecao so far, taking the system he enjoyed so much success with at Corinthians and supplanting it on to the national team.
The XI has been reasonably stable, with only injuries creating the need for change. Marcelo is expected to reclaim the left-back berth ahead of Filipe Luis now he’s fit; Fernandinho will likely continue to deputise for Casemiro given he’s still hurt; and Philippe Coutinho should hold off Willian once again, as the former is the in-form Premier League player right now, while the latter has missed some football recently due to personal circumstances.
Roberto Firmino, Coutinho’s Liverpool colleague, has been in fine fettle of late, and there have been some calls for him to lead the line, but Gabriel Jesus has started all four of Tite’s matches in charge and has three goals to show for it. That said, his recent form for Palmeiras has been iffy to say the least.
Thiago Silva is back in the Brazil reckoning following Dunga’s absurd decision to exclude him, but Miranda and Marquinhos have formed a rock-solid partnership that won’t be broken just yet.
Argentina
While Brazil have been rather formulaic in how they approach the game under Tite, and quite predictable in how they’ll line up, Bauza is having a tough time finding any sort of rhythm.
While the new coach has opted to play a 4-2-3-1 in each of his four fixtures in charge, the personnel has changed dramatically; the only three players to have played in all of them are Sergio Romero, Javier Mascherano and Angel Di Maria.
La Albiceleste are reported to have trained the day before the game with the XI as above, and the personnel prompts questions over Messi’s role. Will he play centrally, just off Gonzalo Higuain, if Enzo Perez has been brought in to help Pablo Zabaleta against Neymar? If Perez does play on the right, it will make it much more of a 4-4-1-1 than a 4-2-3-1.
Bauza is expected to select the back four that kept a clean sheet against Uruguay in September in another move that screams “solidity first”—although Ramiro Funes Mori hasn’t played much football this season, and Emmanuel Mas has plenty of people to win over still.
Pressure point 1: Perez shapes the game plan
In Argentina’s first four games, the right-wing position saw a few changes: Messi (vs. Uruguay), Erik Lamela (vs. Venezuela), Paulo Dybala (vs. Peru) and Nicolas Gaitan (vs. Paraguay). Perez, a central midfielder by trade, is, on paper, the wildest of the five selections yet. But in reality, it makes a lot of sense; it means Bauza has watched how Brazil move in attack and has planned for it.
One thing that has become clear under Tite is that the Selecao’s wingers start wide but have license to roam, often dipping inside and moving around the formation. In Tite’s 4-1-4-1, there’s a big gap in the “No. 10 space” as no one is playing there, and Neymar and Coutinho have permission to drift in and utilise it.
When they move inward, Brazil’s full-backs race onward and overlap. They attack with speed and ferocity, and against Argentina, it looks set to be a Marcelo-Dani Alves combo—two of the very finest in their roles in world football.
Neymar and Coutinho’s markers are the opposing full-backs, but their clever movement pulls them inward and opens a gap for Marcelo and Alves to exploit. Once the lane appears, Brazil spring it, and Filipe Luis scored a goal against Bolivia that stands the crowning example of this move in action.
Perez, a defensively aware player, might just be the key to Argentina’s right flank not collapsing against Marcelo and Neymar on Thursday, If he’s able to track the former’s runs and fill the area Zabaleta is dragged out of, they may not be overloaded.
Pressure point 2: Gabriel’s biggest test yet
As mentioned above, the gap between Tite’s striker and midfield line can sometimes appear quite large. They do press as a unit high up, and the team are remarkably well organised given how little time they’ve spent under the new coach, but when they’re in their own third, the man up top looks isolated.
This is, perhaps, why some fans on social media have floated the idea of Firmino playing instead, as his ability to drift and link play is at an elite level. He could hack the lonely role and conjoin the lines, whereas there are legitimate concerns over whether Gabriel can do the same against one of the strongest international teams in the world.
Gabriel’s bread and butter is his over-the-top threat; the electric speed and directness he possesses is the perfect accompaniment to Neymar and Coutinho’s flair. But as we’ve seen with Tite’s Corinthians team in the past, in which the well-rounded Paolo Guerreiro played, a lot is asked of the centre-forward.
He has to drift into channels and link the play; he has to provide a relief point when the ball is moved quickly out of defence; he must hold his ground and protect possession when necessary; and he must mix this in with runs in behind to stretch the defence.
Argentina’s expected XI suggests a counter-attacking game plan is in the offing for La Albiceleste, and that the onus will be placed on hosts Brazil. While that does eliminate some of the need for Gabriel to hold the ball up, it might well negate his biggest strength: running in behind.
When Brazil come up against a defensive side, the buck will always stop with Neymar. He is the magical prodigy; he is the one who is expected to pick the lock. But with Mascherano and Lucas Biglia patrolling in the middle and protecting a creaking back line, Neymar’s path to goal might be blocked off.
This is where the team’s No. 9 is expected to find a way to score, and it’ll be the biggest test of young Gabriel’s credentials yet.
.jpg?w=600 "Colts Release Kenny Moore")
