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Predictably, international titan Brazil has been chugging along just fine during this men's World Cup.
With a win on Sunday against Ståle Solbakken's underdog Norway team, the Brazilian men will have made at least a quarterfinal appearance in each of the last nine World Cups. That is absurd. No other country in men's world soccer can nearly claim such consistent success over the same period. Not even close.
What's striking about this version of Brazil is how it's been winning without Neymar, a team legend. The 34-year-old Neymar has made just one appearance so far for Brazil during this tournament. That's partly due to injury and his age, as he isn't the same player he was when he was younger. Still, this is Neymar we're talking about. When he's healthy and firing on all cylinders, he's one of the most gifted offensive players of all time. As good as they've been so far in this World Cup, the Brazilians could certainly use more depth and firepower wherever they can get it.
Brazil's manager, Carlo Ancelotti, understands how useful Neymar can be. His pre-match comments about Neymar playing with the younger Vinícius Júnior suggest we will definitely see Neymar play against Norway. But it's still not clear whether that will be in a starting or second-half substitute capacity:
Just because Ancelotti says Neymar is capable of playing 90 minutes does not mean he will get the start. That, to me, reads like more of a comment on Neymar's general fitness being up to par. I would, quite honestly, be surprised if Neymar got the start this late into the World Cup. That doesn't feel like a decision that someone with Ancelotti's managerial acumen would make.
At the very least, whenever Neymar does play, he still might provide some awesome fireworks for what looks like a loaded Brazil lineup.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Is Neymar starting for Brazil against Norway in Round of 16?
Continue reading...
With a win on Sunday against Ståle Solbakken's underdog Norway team, the Brazilian men will have made at least a quarterfinal appearance in each of the last nine World Cups. That is absurd. No other country in men's world soccer can nearly claim such consistent success over the same period. Not even close.
What's striking about this version of Brazil is how it's been winning without Neymar, a team legend. The 34-year-old Neymar has made just one appearance so far for Brazil during this tournament. That's partly due to injury and his age, as he isn't the same player he was when he was younger. Still, this is Neymar we're talking about. When he's healthy and firing on all cylinders, he's one of the most gifted offensive players of all time. As good as they've been so far in this World Cup, the Brazilians could certainly use more depth and firepower wherever they can get it.
Brazil's manager, Carlo Ancelotti, understands how useful Neymar can be. His pre-match comments about Neymar playing with the younger Vinícius Júnior suggest we will definitely see Neymar play against Norway. But it's still not clear whether that will be in a starting or second-half substitute capacity:
Just because Ancelotti says Neymar is capable of playing 90 minutes does not mean he will get the start. That, to me, reads like more of a comment on Neymar's general fitness being up to par. I would, quite honestly, be surprised if Neymar got the start this late into the World Cup. That doesn't feel like a decision that someone with Ancelotti's managerial acumen would make.
At the very least, whenever Neymar does play, he still might provide some awesome fireworks for what looks like a loaded Brazil lineup.
This article originally appeared on For The Win: Is Neymar starting for Brazil against Norway in Round of 16?
Continue reading...
