Brazil are boring, and that’s a good thing

Brazil haven’t been the technical, flashy team they used to be this World Cup. That’s proving to be a good thing.

In the warm-up matches before the World Cup, Brazil were showing off. They scored nine goals in four matches, put together intricate and audacious attacking moves and Neymar, newly returned from injury, was making defenders trip over their own feet.

Brazil were favorites to win the World Cup coming out of qualifiers, and their warm-up matches only re-affirmed that belief. However, once the group stage began, they started to play within themselves. They took fewer risks going forward. They weren’t forcing passes that weren’t there. The pace of their play slowed down immensely. They were doing the unthinkable (at least for them). They were becoming boring.

For most of the world outside of Brazil, this was bad news. The selecao have always been an immensely fun team to watch, regardless of opponent or outcome. Flashy tricks, adventurous attacks and absurd amounts of possession became synonymous with the national team. More often than not, that strategy worked for them, because more often than not they’re more talented than the opposition. Other times, sometimes famously, the strategy ended in embarrassment.

This World Cup, Brazil have favored simplicity over style, defense over attack. That’s proven to work in their first four matches, and is likely to work again against Belgium on Friday.

Brazil have allowed four shots on target in four matches so far. Four! Three of those have been saved, and only one has produced a goal that was somewhat controversial, and came from a corner. Brazil’s defense has become their overwhelming strength in this World Cup. They’re outright dominant.

In the past, Brazil used ball possession and attack as a buffer to their defense. If the other team doesn’t have the ball, they can’t score. If you score five, the opposition has to score six. This World Cup has been different. Brazil had over 50 percent of the ball in all three of their group games, but topped 60 percent only in their late win against Costa Rica. Against Mexico in the round of 16, the selecao actually had less possession than their opponents. El Tri  hardly looked like scoring, let alone winning the match.

Against Belgium, Tite will be asking for more of the same. Belgium are clearly beatable, and have a suspect defense at best, but going for the jugular and attacking all match to exploit that weakness isn’t the way to go about it.

Japan found out the hard way that Belgium’s counter-attacks can be breathtaking and devastating, and that’s going to be key against Brazil. The selecao still like to send numbers forward to unlock a defense like they did against Mexico on their first goal, as they had six men in the box when Neymar tapped home the opener. But they’re only looking for one or two of those clear-cut chances then seeing the game out with their stifling defense.

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Of course, a big part of that defense is Casemiro, who will be sitting out due to yellow card accumulation. In his place will likely be Fernandinho, who likes to roam forward more than Casemiro, and is not as naturally gifted of a defender as his teammate.

Tite’s only made one switch to his starting lineup throughout the tournament, but could decide to re-configure his midfield due to the loss of his best defensive midfielder. Brazil played with a midfield three of Casemiro, Paulinho and Philippe Coutinho in their first four matches. While Tite could simply put Fernandinho in as a positional replacement, it might be smart to bring on the likes of Renato Augusto as part of a more flat midfield three with Coutinho as a winger; similar to how they played against Uruguay in qualifying.

In any case, it will be up to Brazil’s defense yet again to ensure they advance to the semifinals. Thiago Silva and company have stopped just about everything in the last four matches and will be up against the best attack they’ve seen in the tournament thus far. The matchup itself is intriguing and exciting, but Brazil would like nothing more than to shut all of that down and do what they’ve done best in a World Cup full of stunning skill, comebacks and late goals: Be boring. Oh yes, and win.