Argentina vs. Brazil previews World Cup qualifiers Argentina’s defense, Brazilian greatness tested

Brazil registered their place in next year’s World Cup, and Argentina not far behind. They have hit the magic number of 28 points in 12 games, which has always been good enough in previous campaigns and there are still several rounds to go, including today’s clash of the South American giants. Tuesday.

This version of Argentina and Brazil, then, has little to do with World Cup qualifying, but it may have a lot to do with the World Cup itself. Release from the pressure when you have to Qatar, the two teams can now focus all their energies on preparing the squad for the tournament. And there are some tests that are more difficult than the one that each will present together on Tuesday.

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The final defeat that both teams suffered was caused by the other. Argentina have not lost since losing to Brazil in the semi-finals of the 2019 Copa America, while Brazil’s only comeback since the last World Cup was against Argentina in this year’s Copa final. Both are unbeaten in terms of level. But now the bar goes up. Mistakes and mistakes that went unpunished against lesser teams can now be exposed in the San Juan showdown.

Argentina moved this match away from Buenos Aires, the national team’s traditional base, and into the northern provinces, which may not satisfy the players. The pitch in their familiar home, River Plate’s Monumental Stadium, is highly regarded and considered to be a match for the home team’s passing style. Instead, a small town in one of Argentina’s viticulture regions had the privilege of hosting such an occasion; Here are some points of interest on Tuesday night.

TITLE WIN DEFENSE

A quick look at the scoreboard will show how few goals these two teams have conceded. In 12 matches, Argentina only conceded 6 goals and Brazil only conceded 4 goals.

This is an area of ​​Argentina that has undergone a significant improvement since previous tournaments. The appearance in the past few months of Aston Villa Goalie Emiliano Martinez was of great significance. With both talent and strength of character, his presence helped instill confidence through the defence that Argentina had not enjoyed for years, while Cristian RomeroPresence in front of him is also important. He could be the country’s best centre-back at some point.

But there is a difference. Brazil rarely even looks as if they have the slightest chance of conceding a goal; Argentina, meanwhile, sometimes seem to be defending at the limit – as they were for much of Friday’s game against Uruguay. Brazil will unleash more attacking talent than Argentina, which means this encounter is sure to bring Argentina’s defense into the spotlight.

MIDFIELD CAN WIN THE MATCH, TOO

One of the strengths of Argentina currently is the ability to pass the ball in the middle. Leandro Paredes play the first ball with quality, Rodrigo De Paul has a good range of passes and Giovani Lo Celso there’s a sweet thing to go with Lionel Messi. Moving the ball with such grace gave Messi the space from which he could pull a rabbit out of his hat.

So how will Brazil confront them?

Coach Tite switched to a 4-4-2 formation, with Neymar float ahead behind a striker – maybe Matheus Cunha on Tuesday – and the width is provided by a winger (Raphinha) on one side and one player (Lucas Paqueta) on the other hand. Paqueta is very versatile and could be better used on the field, especially in this game. The danger of a 4-4-2 against Argentina is both in central midfield – Fabinho (step in for suspension Casemiro) and Fred – could be more crowded. If Brazil goes with this formation, the full-back Danilo and Alex Sandro will be expected to help.

The best place to stop Argentina is in midfield – a lesson Uruguay had to learn when they suffered a 3-0 defeat last month, and they conceded a goal last Friday when unfortunately conceded a goal. only loser. .

Brazil looks set to make an interesting change at centre-back. In the Copa America final, Marquinhos cooperated by Thiago Silva, although this always looks like a mistake. Thiago Silva is still a good defender, but he is at the veteran stage of his career and at club level he operates in confined spaces, in the middle of three, with pace. Antonio Rudiger with him, an important part of Chelsea defense unit.

As part of a central midfield pairing, Thiago Silva was forced to occupy more space, and it was worth noting that in the Copa America, Brazil did not press well in midfield when he played. He prefers to drop deeper to create space for himself, something that played a part in Argentina’s decisive goal, when Rodrigo De Paul had time to catch his pass for Angel Di Maria.

It seems that Eder Militao will very soon replace Thiago Silva for this match. With Tite also featuring Gabriel Magalhaes, Brazil has a rich defensive embarrassment; With agile central defenders, it will become easier to close to Argentina in the middle of the field.

IMPORTANCE OF CONTROL

Part of the story of Argentina winning the Copa America in July is the lack of emotional regulation from the Brazilian attack as they chase the game. This is often an area where Neymar can be questioned. In the words of former Brazil striker Paulo Nunes, Neymar has “less disputes” with opponents and with referees. His style of play is always likely to lead to conflicts with refs; Neymar has his own criteria where, in his mind, every contact he makes is fouled and he can lose control when decisions don’t go his way.

Of course, he is a fantastic footballer, and his partnership with Lucas Paqueta has been the best thing about the Brazilian attack over the past few months – they even worked together to create a great goal against Colombia last Thursday. But Paqueta can also be guilty of immaturity, and such a lack of composure has led Brazil to the Copa America final; it risks costing them under pressure in next year’s World Cup.

This match will be a good one – even if Neymar has forced to miss the game, withdrew after feeling a muscle injury during Monday’s training session. The test now is how well Brazil can hit all the turrets without him, as this match could serve as a rehearsal for an important World Cup match if the weapons hit hard. Most of them were injured or suspended.

The teams met – or started to meet – in Sao Paulo in September. That match, of course, paused after five minutes, 10 seconds when Brazilian health officials wandered into the field with the aim of expelling Argentine players from playing in the Premier League. But even in that short period of time, there were signs that Brazil was having problems in front of the opposing midfield, and that Argentina’s defense would have difficulty organizing the opponent’s attacks. This time, we have the full 90 minutes to put the teams under the microscope and gauge the strength of their 2022 World Cup challenge.