Brazil 2 Panama 0: Conclusions

Brazil eased to a 2-0 victory over Panama in Denver last night and Dunga gave us an insight into some of his thinking as the Seleção begin their Copa América campaign next weekend. This is Brazil’s only warm up match in advance of the tournament and it showed in Dunga’s tinkering as the game developed. […]
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sambafoot_admin
2016-05-30 19:01:00

Brazil eased to a 2-0 victory over Panama in Denver last night and Dunga gave us an insight into some of his thinking as the Seleção begin their Copa América campaign next weekend. This is Brazil’s only warm up match in advance of the tournament and it showed in Dunga’s tinkering as the game developed. The coach confirmed after the match that he planned to road test different scenarios.

“We started with a way to play, then we moved, putting two upfront. Then we went back to one attacker. We switched to 4-4-2, testing alternatives to see what our team is best suited to. We will see what better fits our players.”


Dunga began with a 4-1-4-1 shape. The defence and goalkeeper selections held few surprises. Alisson is established as the number 1 choice, Dani Alves recovered from a foot injury to play at right-back. In the absence of Champions League finalist Filipe Luis, Douglas Santos filled in at left-back with Miranda and Gil the partnership at centre half. Luiz Gustavo played in the ‘volante’ role to protect the back four, but he had a quiet night in that regard, Panama offered little in the way of attacking threat.

Renato Augusto and Elias revived their Corinthians partnership from last season in the engine room, with Willian taking his usual right wing berth. With Douglas Costa injured, Dunga went for a different solution on the left, with Philippe Coutinho drifting in from that vantage point as the main playmaker. The buccaneering Douglas Santos provided width from left-back. Coutinho enjoyed an excellent first half and could have scored on more than one occasion. Upfront, Jonas started and scored an early goal to settle Brazil.

Jonas is the most natural replacement for Ricardo Oliveira, who has withdrawn from the squad through injury. He is more of a traditional centre forward, as illustrated by his goal, a close range finish from Renato Augusto’s cut back. Brazil breezed the first half, but it is difficult not to think that this line-up could lack a little creative spark. Dunga’s side face Haiti, Peru and Ecuador in the group stage and Haiti and Peru in particular will look to defend in numbers and hit Brazil on the counter attack.

The Seleção might need to find a space for Lucas Lima ahead of Elias to provide more of a creative edge. Jonas relies heavily on service and it seems a large burden to place on Coutinho- especially given that he is slightly out of position on the left- albeit with license to roam inside. Lucas Lima played a little from the left in the second half and for games against obstinate defences, Dunga could probably do with shedding some of his conservative leanings and allowing Lima and Coutinho to combine and rotate positions from left to centre.

Elias is useful breaking forward into goalscoring positions from deep, but again, he requires service to be effective. The second half provided a window into Dunga’s thinking, as he withdrew Luiz Gustavo and threw on Hulk to partner Jonas upfront. Hulk normally plays from the left, but provides physicality and a powerful shot from central positions. He looked like a more natural replacement for the injured Douglas Costa, but Dunga’s switch to a 4-4-2 shows that he also sees the Zenit forward as an able deputy in a central position.

Brazil may require two strikers at some point in the Copa, especially if they struggle to break down Haiti or Peru. They spent around 20 minutes of the second half in this 4-4-2 structure and it really ought to have yielded a goal when Hulk connected with Coutinho’s cross from the right, but he headed it straight at the keeper. The chance reminded you of the physical presence that Hulk can offer at centre forward. That the opportunity was squandered highlights some of the frustrations that the player brings too.

For the final third of the game, Dunga brought on Santos pair Lucas Lima and Gabriel Barbosa and reverted to a 4-1-4-1; with Gabigol playing from the right and Lima moving towards the left. Gabigol scored his first international goal with a tidy finish just seven minutes after coming on. The 19 year old forward seems the most natural replacement for Neymar, who plays in the false 9 role for Brazil. But in Denver, Gabigol played from the right, as he often does for his club. After the match, Dunga praised the Santos forward’s versatility,

“He plays in all three roles at the front and we can adopt depending on the game. He is a speed player, comes easily to the goal, the one on one. Today we try to play him as he plays for Santos: alternating positions in the frontline.”


Rodrigo Caio also demonstrated his versatility, coming on in the holding midfield role. The São Paulo man has played the majority of the last year at centre half, but can play in a deep midfield position too. Casemiro was not available due to his participation in the Champions League final and he is far more likely to be considered first back up to Luiz Gustavo. Given that this was Dunga’s only chance to experiment ahead of the Copa, it stands to reason that the game can neatly be dissected into three mini games. The 4-1-4-1 seems to be the favoured formation going into the tournament.

I fancy that Brazil might struggle for guile and creativity if Elias and Renato Augusto are selected together with no space for Lucas Lima. Both Hulk and Gabigol are capable of playing across a front three, or playing as support strikers to Jonas in a 4-4-2, so it made sense for Dunga to use part of the game as a laboratory for the 4-4-2, especially given the identity of their group opponents. But Luiz Gustavo, Renato Augusto and Elias looks a very conservative midfield trio and places a lot of impetus on Coutinho, a player Dunga has repeatedly not even called up as a squad player in the recent past.

The standard of the opposition makes it difficult to draw hugely positive conclusions for Brazil. By Dunga’s own admission, Panama not provide a stern test, “Panama team was far behind, so the man in the middle (in the defensive midfield role) was a little functionless.” It is therefore surprising that Dunga did not make changes in the centre of defence. Gil and Miranda are clearly the first choice pairing, but Marquinhos remains short of minutes in a Brazil shirt which could hurt the squad if he is required.

Rodrigo Caio had some minutes in a holding midfield role. Dani Alves played ahead of Fabinho despite the Barcelona right-back admitting that he has been playing with pain in his foot for nearly six months. Fabinho was introduced at the end, but like Marquinhos, could well be underprepared if called upon. There again, with Filipe Luis unavailable, Dunga probably did not want to destabilise his back line any further. The manager may be frustrated by the lack of clinical finishing- only 6 of Brazil’s shots found the target. Brazil are unlikely to find opponents as generous as Panama when the Copa gets underway.

Team: 1.ALISSON, 2.DANI ALVES (15.Fabinho), 3.MIRANDA (c), 4.GIL, 16.DOUGLAS SANTOS, 17.LUIZ GUSTAVO (21.Hulk), 22.Philippe COUTINHO (7.Kaká). 18.RENATO AUGUSTO (14.Rodrigo Caio), 8.ELIAS, 19.WILLIAN (10.Lucas Lima), 9.JONAS (11.Gabriel Barbosa). Unused: 12.Diego Alves, 13.Marquinhos, 23.Ederson.

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sambafoot_admin
May 30, 2016