Brazil are determined to keep their dream-like Qatar World Cup 2022 going on by defeating a sturdy Croatia side. See Last Word on Football’s Brazil predicted line-up for their upcoming World Cup quarter-final clash against Croatia.
Brazil Predicted Line-up vs Croatia
How Brazil Have Lined-up Recently
Tite’s side has been one of the most entertaining teams to watch at the World Cup, thrilling football fans with their attractive attacking football. Because of their deeply rooted philosophy and football values, Brazil will never line-up in a defensive fashion. They have played a pretty attack-minded style at the World Cup and are unlikely to strave away from that even into the last eight of the tournament.
Brazil’s attacking players have lit things up for them with some exhilarating stuff. Richarlison, their highest-scorer, has been a revelation up-front and is guaranteed to keep starting. Behind him, the trio of Neymar-Vinicius Jr-Raphinha are potent enough to torment the best of defenders in world football. Lucas Paqueta and Casemiro’s midfield pivot has added the right balance of attacking support and defensive protection.
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At the back, the Selecao should continue with their four-man backline and a similar shape which was played against South Korea. Marquinhos and Thiago Silva are among the oldest centre-back pairing at the World Cup, but they’re using experience and aggression to shut down the opposition attackers. They’re commanding the backline with confidence and have the highly-reliable Alisson behind them to save their blushes.
Brazil Recent Form
The Samba Boys were one of the best-performing sides in international football heading into the World Cup. They played eight games in 2022 before their participation in the competition and won seven out of those matches and did not lose a single game. In those eight matches, they scored 31 goals and conceded just three goals.
Due to their amazing form, Brazil were predictably labelled as one of the major favorites to win the Qatar World Cup. They did not disappoint their form either, grinding out impressive wins in their first two games against Serbia and Switzerland to win their group. The Selecao suffered a loss in their third group game against Cameroon, but that’s because of playing a second-string side.
Tite’s side stormed back into form in their Round of 16 clash against South Korea. They blew away the Asian side, scoring four goals in the first 45 minutes to delight the fans and consolidating a solid 4-1 win. They’re now heading into the quarter-finals with a lot of momentum on their side and full of confidence.
Brazil Tactics
Brazil have maintained their patent 4-2-3-1 formation for the major World Cup matches and looked really threatening in it as well. The Selecao have earned the reputation for playing some amazing attacking football, which involves excellent trickery and crisp one-touch play in the final third.
Some of the goals scored by Richarlison have been amazing, while Brazi put up a real clinic in attacking football against South Korea. Tite shapes his side to pile a lot of bodies in the attack, but most of the responsibility is put on their front four. Richarlison often drops deep to get more involved and drag defenders out of their areas, while Neymar and Vinicius Jr are experts in carrying the ball forward and making things happen.
Raphinha is tasked to send in inviting crosses from the right as well as create from set-pieces. Paqueta has been a bit of an X-factor for Brazil, often wandering out of his deeper midfield position to add an extra body in the final third. His clever passing and off-the-ball runs are done to catch opposition defenders out of guard, as he did by scoring in the last game.
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Despite their attacking preference, Brazil have been really impressive defensively and only coneded two goals in four World Cup games. Alisson has, of ocurse, played a part with his fantastic saves in key moments. But the Thiago Silva-Marquinhos duo – aided by the aggressive Casemiro – have kept things tight at the back and not allow any empty space to be formed that easily. Eder Militao and Danilo have both proven themselves as solid defenders, who are able to frustrate opposition wingers.
The Selecao love creating crisp, quick attacking moves with some amazing link-up play. But with the speed of their front-four, they can be a terror in the counter-attacks as well. Brazil will look to maintain their blistering form and pick up another dominant win in the quarter-final.
Brazil Injuries to Consider
Brazil suffered a few unfortunate injury blows in their loss to Cameroon, which saw both Gabriel Jesus and Alex Telles pick up injuries that ended their World Cup campaign. Alex Sandro is also a doubt for the upcoming game due to fitness issues.
Brazil Predicted Lineup
Alisson, Eder Militao, Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Danilo, Casemiro, Lucas Paqueta, Raphinha, Neymar, Vinicius Jr, Richarlison
