Will Pressure get the Better of the Samba Boys at Home?
Brazil have been unable advance from the quarter-finals in both the 2006 and the 2010 edition of the World Cup, losing to the eventual runners-up on both occasions; France in 2006 & Netherlands in 2010. They would want to beat the jinx of the past two World Cups, as they have a severe need to perform and the stage is set for them. The “kings of football” this time around are in their own backyard, with a good if not great set of players, a promising leader in the form of Thiago Silva and a World Cup winning coach in Luis Felipe Scolari, who guided the team to its last World Cup glory in 2002.
The Brazilian squad however includes a large number of players who have not had much exposure at the international level, but are phenomenal players when it comes to their league performances. A player with brilliant abilities and who’s not known can be used as a secret weapon, but not having experience in the team might turn out to be their Achilles heel this time round. The young players could have been given the license to go all out without much concern, provided there were experienced players to handle the pressure situations.
Playing in front of the home crowd adds a lot of pressure on the youngsters to perform and at times their emotions and pressure could get the better of them in crucial encounters. If Julio Cesar (GK), Maicon (Def) and Dani Alves (Def) are to be left aside, none of the Brazilian players have 50 International caps to their name (Stats: prior to World Cup Group Stages). This adds a lot of responsibility on the shoulders of the experienced players to mentor the youngsters in the dressing room as well as on the field. Although it would be pretty much wrong to say this might cause their downfall because this is almost the same squad which lifted the Confederations Cup in 2013.
The home-town heroes though have been far from invincible; which they were at the Confederations Cup last year. They have let in goals and their defensive mistakes have by far been overshadowed by their scoring prowess. Their failure to come back after the equalizer by Chile in the Round of 16 put the young squad under tremendous pressure and they almost conceded in the dying moments of extra time, as Pinilla’s shot hit the woodwork.
Brazil’s forwards haven’t been good enough either, the burden of scoring goals lies on the young shoulders of Neymar and the rest of the midfield. However, if the runs from the forwards are blocked, then the result is what we witnessed in the Round of 16 encounter against Chile.
Hulk did manage to score in the game but it was ruled out by the referee for using a bit of help from his hands to control the ball, although the replays showed otherwise. The experience of Julio Cesar and the goal post came in as the saviours for the home team; this lack of experience puts them in a vulnerable position.
Brazil have hardly been convincing in the manner in which they have reached the quarter-finals. A victory over their South American rivals Chile on penalties and a couple of non-discrete performances in the group stages has everyone wondering whether Luis Felipe Scolari missed a trick. The ex-Chelsea manager while assembling his team seemed to have forgotten an important element with the squad that he picked, dropping out the experienced names of Kaka, Robinho from his final 23.
The seniors could have been pretty much important in the pressure environments of the kind that they faced against Chile. Gustavo and Hulk missed their penalties as they failed to keep their composure at the crucial stage. The Samba heroes now face a test against another of their South American rivals in the form of Colombia, who has been in sublime form this tournament. Colombia has already produced some of the best performances in this World Cup and James Rodriguez will be the main threat as he managed to score a goal in every match for the Colombians tallying at five goals.
The worst case that could now possibly arise for the hosts is that Neymar may not be fit for the quarters, after he took a severe hit on his thighs during the game against Chile. The Chileans got under the nerves of Brazil defence with their attacks. Colombia is similarly capable of attacking and penetrating the defence, but at a far greater scale than their counter parts Chile. Brazil will be under tremendous pressure of performing and that could cause a back fire, and if they are unable to overcome the pressure before it gets to them in this match, then it might be time to say good bye to the Samba Boys from the World Cup.