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Brazil
Pre-Tournament
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Brazil entered the World Cup with a huge demon perched on their shoulder in the shape of a 7-1 defeat to Germany at their home tournament in 2014. The demon had been nested there for four long years and Brazil came to Russia determined to exorcise it by bringing home a record sixth World Cup. While their qualification campaign got off to a rocky start, a change of manager saw Tite take over midway through qualification and lead Brazil to comfortably top the group by 10 points.
The Story So Far
The pre-tournament favorites began the World Cup with an unimpressive 1-1 draw against Switzerland leading some to question their credentials to go all the way. Those doubts were raised further throughout their second group match against Costa Rica as they struggled to break through a resilient defense for 90 minutes until two goals in additional time led to tears from Neymar which circulated around the world. A comfortable 2-0 win against Serbia saw Brazil top their group and head into the last 16 in decent form.
While not scintillating, Brazil entered the last 16 with high hopes of progressing to the next round when paired with a Mexico team who had never beaten them in a World Cup match. An exciting match saw the Brazilians run our 2-0 victors, extending their excellent run against CONCACAF nations at the World Cup to eight wins out of nine matches. However, Neymar Jr.'s play-acting which overshadowed Brazil's group games continued into this match, taking headlines away from Brazil's progress and placing them on their star player for the wrong reasons.
What's Next
Brazil's win over Mexico has set up a mouthwatering quarter-final tie against a strong Belgium team. Unlike the famous Brazil sides of the 70s and 80s, this incarnation of Brazil focuses on defensive prowess over slick attacking football and that could be the difference maker against Belgium's exciting front line. This promises to be the match of the round and if Neymar Jr. can stay on his feet, it has all the hallmarks of a World Cup classic.
