Brazil produce tactical nightmare to suffer shock 2022 World Cup exit

Suraj Radia

• 9 Dec 2022 12:46 CST
• 2 min read

Widely considered the favourites in Qatar, Brazil crashed out of the 2022 World Cup against Crotia at the quarter-finals in a game of regrets and bizarre decision making from Tite and his side.

After a goalless 90 minutes, Neymar put his team in front to equal Pele’s all-time goalscoring record for Brazil before Bruno Petkovic equalised four minutes from time to send the game to penalties.

Croatia’s leveller came from a devastating counter-attack, with Brazil strangely choosing to push forward to grab a second goal in extra time, allowing their opponents to score from their only shot on target.

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Brazil had struggled to dominate possession throughout the game, with their attacking-minded central midfield selection looking frail against Croatia and the evergreen Luka Modric.

Yet, with the game going to penalties and Croatia winning their last three shootouts, including in the last round against Japan, Brazil missed decisive spot-kicks through Rodrygo and Marquinhos, all without Neymar taking one.

Having been touted as one of the strongest and most intelligent teams in the tournament, with a successful and experienced coach, Brazil buckled under the pressure to suffer yet another humiliating exit on the global stage.

Poor mentality, poor decision making, poor Brazil

Tite opted to continue with the same midfield that won against South Korea, with Casemiro and Lucas Paqueta being paired in holding midfield, while Neymar also played deeper than his preferred role.

However, although it produced a positive result in the previous round, the decision to play a more advanced forward in Paqueta against the experienced midfield of Modric, Marcelo Brozovic and Mateo Kovavic backfired as Brazil struggled to break down Croatia.

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Brazil’s attacking core were also poor, with the front three of Richarlison, Vinicius Junior and Raphinha all subbed off, yet no attempt to stable the midfield was made until after Brazil’s opener in the 106th minute.

The likes of Bruno Guimaraes and Fabinho were left on the bench as Brazil felt possessed to keep attacking despite their lead, leaving them vulnerable to the counter and allowing Petkovic to take the game to penalties.

In shades of the African Cup of Nations final earlier this year, where Egyptian talisman Mohamed Salah ‘saved’ himself for the fifth spot kick that never came, Neymar failed to step up for a penalty after two of his teammates missed.

Brazil may have underestimated Croatia, despite their opponents finishing runners up in the last World Cup and the naïve decision to field an attack-minded midfield against a quality side, combined with a bizarre mentality and a poor choice of penalty takers cost the nation the game and the tournament.

Although players like Neymar may have another opportunity to bring World Cup glory to his country, the manner of the defeat was evident that Brazil’s approach needs to change in order to avoid another underperforming display four years from now.