After a long delay , the World Cup qualifiers finally started this week for South America. Brazil’s first game was against Bolivia and they won convincingly 5-0!
My 5 thought and observations on the game.
-considering that Brazil hadn’t played in close to a year, with a lot of new players, the chemistry wasn’t lacking at all.
-when was the last time Brazil had two goals scored from a header in the same game?
-6 Brazilian players yesterday (starters and subs) play in the EPL. This must be an all time high, if not close to it. Had Fabinho and Ederson/Alison play, it would be more than half the team. In fact, players from the EPL make up the biggest representation in the current squad (7 out of 23) , more than any other league!
-on the other hand , only 5 players out of the current 23-man selection play in the Brazilian league and while we have had less, this is pretty low. You would hope at least 1/3 is from the Brasiliero.
-Neymar is now at 61 goals from 102 games for Brazil, sitting at 3rd place for Brazil. Ronaldo is at 62 goals from 98 matches, including 15 in 3 World Cups. So while Ronaldo’s goals have clearly more significance, it is great to know that Neymar has managed to score this many while also adding 44 assists (a total of just over 1 goal/assist per game played with the NT. Not bad at all for a player that has had to play in one of the worst eras of Brazilian football in terms of teammates, has had a lot of injuries, and of course all his on and off the field drama. If he was as focused on his play and as injury free as CR7/Messi, the sky would be the limit.
My 5 thought and observations on the game.
-considering that Brazil hadn’t played in close to a year, with a lot of new players, the chemistry wasn’t lacking at all.
-when was the last time Brazil had two goals scored from a header in the same game?
-6 Brazilian players yesterday (starters and subs) play in the EPL. This must be an all time high, if not close to it. Had Fabinho and Ederson/Alison play, it would be more than half the team. In fact, players from the EPL make up the biggest representation in the current squad (7 out of 23) , more than any other league!
-on the other hand , only 5 players out of the current 23-man selection play in the Brazilian league and while we have had less, this is pretty low. You would hope at least 1/3 is from the Brasiliero.
-Neymar is now at 61 goals from 102 games for Brazil, sitting at 3rd place for Brazil. Ronaldo is at 62 goals from 98 matches, including 15 in 3 World Cups. So while Ronaldo’s goals have clearly more significance, it is great to know that Neymar has managed to score this many while also adding 44 assists (a total of just over 1 goal/assist per game played with the NT. Not bad at all for a player that has had to play in one of the worst eras of Brazilian football in terms of teammates, has had a lot of injuries, and of course all his on and off the field drama. If he was as focused on his play and as injury free as CR7/Messi, the sky would be the limit.