5) Quality subs and brought on smartly by Tite
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When you have a production line as star-studded as Brazil’s, squad selection is a difficult task. Tite endured a lot of flak when he left out superstars like Oscar, Lucas Moura and Roberto Firmino, but his ploy of selecting the most in-form players for their clubs has reaped dividends.
Philippe Coutinho especially has been very effective as an impact sub. His through ball enabled Marcelo to assist Jesus for the clinching second goal vs Ecuador and the Liverpool man was key again against Colombia, assisting Neymar for his match winning goal.
Tite, again, operated against conventional pragmatic football sense that Brazil has been influenced by in recent years and made attacking substitutions when leading 3-0 against Ecuador and 2-1 against Colombia
The legendary coach has not thrown caution to the wind. Rather, he has made an effective fusion of traditional Brazilian attacking wing-backs with a European style midfield trifecta with a regista.
What makes it more effective is that his team selections ensure he has the best players at the necessary positions. Tite seems to have found the right mix. All the more importantly, Brazilian football is joyful and magical to watch again. O Jogo Bonito as they say in Rio!
