The return

After the great disappointment of the last World Cup 2014, where they were defeated by Germany 7-1 in the semifinals, and the sudden elimination in the group stage in the last Copa America at the hands of Peru, Brazil needed a change to return to his good form before the 2018 World Cup, and that's where his manager Tite enters the scene.

In June 2016, Tite got the position of technical director of Brazil and assumed the role of leader to take the five-time champions to get a place for the next world cup by winning virtually all the matches of the tie of the conmebol.

They even made it look very easy against teams like Uruguay, Argentina and Colombia, teams that have many of the best players in the world, but who simply looked like rookies against "la canarinha".

How does Brazil play?

As soon as Tite took the direction of the team he knew exactly what to do, to restore the hierarchy of Brazil needed to completely restructure the team, the defense needed to be solid again and the midfield had to have more possession of the ball to be able to create opportunities for the offensive lines, without sacrificing defensive duties.

Let's analyze each line of the team to understand what Tite did to make Brazil one of the best teams in the world again.

Defending

In the first place, the defense had to be more solid, the disastrous result against Germany in the last world cup was a clear signal that the weakest link of the team was in this line.

Brazil is globally associated with the best strikers and offensive players, but historically this team has had among its ranks great defenders and goalkeepers that were key to the historic success that this selection has had, and Tite wanted to recover this tradition.

First of all, he returned the captain's band to Thiago Silva, with this the great defense center regained his confidence and began to show great performances again, by the bands Marcelo and Dani Alves are responsible for giving more defensive strength to the team, At the same time they help to project the attack by the bands when necessary, the best in the world in this position for many.

Finally, he designated Alisson as the goalkeeper of Brazil, for many the best goalkeeper in South America, a quality he demonstrates week after week with Roma, who have helped the Italian team reach the semifinals of the league of champions.

Midfield

Brazil's midfield has been crucial to the team's recent success, which has defined Tite in two very clear departments.

The first one is the one that works with the first line of defense to cut the opponents game and then start the plays providing the offensive side with the clean balls, the players designated by Tite to assume this role are Casemiro, Paulinho and Renato Augusto .

The offensive side of the midfield is led by Coutinho, who is having a great season in Barcelona and prior to that he had a great season with Liverpool in the Premier League, which is a clear proof of the great level that this player has had for more of two seasons, performance that has moved in very good performances with his national team.

Without a doubt, Brazil's midfield is a force to fear for all the other countries in the world cup and for me it is the strongest link of the yellow team.

Strikers

When we talk about the forwards in Brazil, a name appears instantly, Neymar. The star player of Brazil has been surrounded by controversy since last season for his unexpected departure from Barcelona to PSG, but apart from this situation, no one can deny the talent and the great contribution that Neymar offers to the Brazilian team, and that is why that Tite has given him total freedom to do what he knows best, to attack and destabilize the opponent, always counting on the help of the rest of the team.

On the right side we have William who has done an outstanding job with Chelsea recently and finally the central position goes to Gabriel Jesus, a player who has made the mythical number 9 of Brazil his own by scoring nine goals in fifteen appearances with his compatriots.

Alignment

Having talked about Brazil's key players, let's take a closer look at the lineup that is expected for this World Cup:

Tite uses the 4-3-3 formation which is a very offensive formation but can also be transformed into a 4-5-1 to be more defensive, the baseline remains always the same, with Miranda and Silva as central defenders, Marcelo and Alves laterals, who are considered the best in the world, provide excellent defensive coverage but also contribute enormously to the offensive potential of the team when they join the attack.

When the team is in formation 4-5-1 Willian and Neymar contribute to the defense in midfield, obviously Willian does this job better than Neymar, but the Brazilian star also contributes in this part of the game, and when the team is fully in offensive mode, Paulinho can start the play by passing the ball to Coutinho while Neymar and Willian attack on both sides with Gabriel Jesús penetrating the center of the opposite side.

This training is perfect for the players that have the selection of Brazil, a masterpiece of Tite.

Conclusions

With all this we can see why Brazil is, without a doubt, one of the strongest contenders to win the title, strong players, a very experienced and intelligent technical director, together with a great history, are the driving force behind this team to retake the status of favorite for the World Cup.

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