Despite coming off a 3-1 victory over Venezuela to kick off the FIFA World Cup qualifying fixtures, the Brazil national team faces criticism from several media outlets at home.
Although the Seleção came away with the win while scoring three goals, Venezuela led for the majority of the match, and perhaps the only reason they scored late in the game was the Venezuelans running out of gas.
The way Brazil has been playing under Tite over the last year is drawing criticism as the World Cup is right around the corner. Furthermore, pundits in the South American country believe the national team is beginning to fall behind the European nations.
Former Brazilian footballer and now pundit Walter Casagrande stated in his column for Globo Esporte (via UOL Esporte) that the style the Seleção is currently playing sees them falling by the wayside. Furthermore, he states that South American football is also falling behind Europe.
“There is no comparison between football played in Europe and what we see in South America. We are far from reaching the intensity, dynamics, power of reaction, great players who decide games with fantastic individual moves,” Casagrande said.
“Brazil, for example, plays very slowly, without creativity. They can get nervous and pull their hair… We don’t have any player who decides important games.”
Brazil can take advantage of playing like this against South American counterparts, but they’re far from a team that possesses that Brazilian flair that many have come to expect.