With the Copa América secured on home soil, Tite rescued his job prospects ahead of the 2022 World Cup in Qatar. Following their elimination from the 2018 World Cup quarter-final at the hands of Belgium, the Seleção’s objectives became very short term- win the Copa América.
Having done so, Tite and his staff have earned themselves the breathing space they require. Edu Gaspar has left for the Technical Director role at Arsenal and he is replaced by Juninho Paulista. The playing staff will also undergo a nip and a tuck, with only two players over 30 selected for September friendlies against Colombia and Peru.
The likes of João Miranda, Willian and Fernandinho do not feature in the current squad, while Vinicius Junior, Lucas Paquetá and Bruno Henrique do. With a couple of months before qualifying for the 2022 World Cup begins, Tite is finally free to usher in the new era and start moving on from an inexperienced squad, who served the short-term purpose of saving his job with the Copa América victory.
The Seleção however, are still finding the Nations League to be a bit of a bugbear for them when it comes to arranging useful friendlies. In September, they will face very familiar opponents in Peru and Colombia- though this will have its uses as they are about to embark on CONMEBOL qualifying. But Brazil have struggled to face strong opposition in exhibition games since Europe’s bigger teams became involved with the new Nations League.
Reports suggest that Tite’s side will face Thailand in October, which will be a valuable commercial opportunity, but as a sporting contest, it will be of little merit. There is an emphasis on the new now for Tite, but he will still want to take care of some more established talent. Neymar Junior’s future remains uncertain.
He missed the Copa América through injury and his desire to leave Paris Saint Germain is very public. Winning the tournament without their star player has caused many pundits to reflect on whether Neymar is more trouble than he is worth- a suggestion shot down by Tite who described the player as ‘indispensable’.
Likewise, Philippe Coutinho is looking to re-ignite his career after joining Bayern Munich on loan from Barcelona, where his career has stalled for the last 18 months. He remains an important player for Tite, but Coutinho had a quite average Copa América and looks visibly shorn of confidence. Tite will hope he can rediscover his Liverpool form in the Bundesliga.
