The Brazil fans are wearing T-shirts which proclaim that ‘Tite is better than Guardiola’ and for 45 minutes last night their team seemed to have brought a new dimension to the World Cup, demonstrating that the relentless press of these times is not necessary when you have players who can wait for their moment and then propel the ball around like volts of electricity.
But the search for an understanding of who might emerge as the tournament’s threat remains elusive. After a Switzerland equaliser which asked uncomfortable questions about the Brazil defence, the Europeans were allowed to bully the five-time winners out of the game.
There were recriminations about the way that Manuel Akanji seemed to have his hands on Gabriel Jesus in the penalty area, 16 minutes from time — an incident which the ranks of fully kitted video referees did not see fit to draw attention to. But the unvarnished truth is that Tite’s players went far too easily to ground too often and could not maintain the rhythm and control which made their opening 45 minutes of the tournament seem such a statement of intent.
Switzerland enjoyed a good start to their 2018 World Cup campaign in Russia as they held tournament favourites Brazil 1-1
Philippe Coutinho (right) hit a stunning opening goal for Brazil against Switzerland on Sunday evening at the Rostov Arena
Coutinho displayed expert technique to bend the ball in from a foot outside the post before it clipped the upright on its way in
But Steven Zuber cancelled out Coutinho’s moment of magic by nodding in a second-half leveller from close range
They’d put 1,440 days between themselves and the catastrophe of the 7-1 defeat to Germany but it still casts its shadow. Brazil are seeking redemption for what they still call ‘la fantasma’ — ‘the ghost’ of Belo Horizonte. The intensity of all they did in the early stages hinted at that. Germany’s faltering start to the tournament in the hours before the game was a reminder of new beginnings.
They held nothing back. Tite had said on Saturday that Neymar was ‘not 100 per cent right’ but even if there was any truth in that, the manager who has rebuilt this team had no intention of acting on it. He threw him into the fray.
The game was four minutes old when a defensive midfielder, Valon Behrami, hustled him as any self-respecting defensive midfielder would do. What was significant in that moment was the talisman’s reluctance to release the ball. He held his ground and held Behrami off, seeming to signal that he plays without a shadow of doubt about that metatarsal which had kept him out of competitive football since February.
There were clear minds all around him in that first period. Brazil were prepared to give Switzerland half the field to play in. The ball was generally into their own half before they went in active pursuit of it.
And once it belonged to them, they shipped it around the field with the kind of intuition which hinted at the potential for something fearsome in the four weeks which lie ahead. Extremely early days, but there was something of the 1970 side about this imperturbable quality when they were out of possession.
Almost from the start, Neymar and Philippe Coutinho were the most dangerous combination in the left hand channel, latter feeding former in the game’s 11th minute, when Fabian Schaer found the ball under his feed in a nightmare moment and could only half clear the ball to Paulinho, who shot wide.
Barcelona star Coutinho curled home expertly from long range to give Brazil the lead after 20 minutes in Rostov-on-Don
Switzerland goalkeeper Yann Sommer was at full stretch but did not come close to stopping Coutinho’s spectacular strike
A view from behind the Switzerland goal as Coutinho’s shot hits the net to break the deadlock in Sunday’s World Cup clash
Brazil midfielder Paulinho (left) congratulated Coutinho after the former Liverpool playmaker scored his first World Cup goal
Neymar also celebrated with Coutinho as he jumped into his international team-mate’s arms while Casemiro (left) watched on
Brazil captain Neymar, pictured on the floor after a heavy tackle, was fouled multiple times during a busy performance
Neymar, the world’s most expensive player after costing PSG £198m last year, found himself in an unusual position after a fall
With the space they were allowed, the Swiss did not lack opportunity. Barely before the game had started, Xherdan Shaqiri found Blerim Dzemaili unmarked in the box but the forward could not sort his feet out and shot over.
But the opening goal, on 20 minutes, delivered a message for which there was no immediate answer — Neymar and Coutinho exchanging passes in the left hand channel again and shipping out for Marcelo, whose cross was headed by Steven Zuber to the feet of the former Liverpool player. The trajectory of his sublime strike — bending from fully a foot outside the right hand post to strike the inside of the upright on its way into the top right — was his trademark.
The Swiss equaliser went against the grain of everything that had gone before. The centre half Miranda lacked any awareness as Zuber, unmarked four yards from goal, leapt to meet Shaqiri’s corner and powered his header past Allison on 50 minutes.
Brazil swept back. Coutinho had two shots blocked in quick succession and Neymar, following up on the second, sending a deflected effort into the side-netting. He briefly hobbled on the right foot he had broken but it was a false alarm.
He and Coutinho continued to provide the main attacking axis. The Barcelona player took down a clipped left foot pass from his teammate on his chest, after 70 minutes, and fired wide.
Tite brought in Roberto Firmino for Jesus, who struggled to make an impression, and substitute Renato Augusto had a close-range effort at the death. But on a weekend which some mighty giants have been slayed, the outcome demonstrated that the team which lifts this trophy will need more than the stardust quality. Guile, steadfastness and physicality will all be requirements. We wait to see whether Brazil really are equipped to put the past behind them.
Switzerland were level five minutes into the second half when midfielder Zuber headed home following a corner kick
A view from behind the Brazil goal as Zuber heads the ball flying towards net as everyone else on the pitch watches on
Brazil defender Miranda (No 3) argued that he had been pushed by Zuber but referee Cesar Arturo Ramos let the goal stand
Twenty-six-year-old Zuber, who plays club football for Bundesliga side Hoffenheim in Germany, celebrated by the corner flag
Zuber’s team-mates joined him in the corner of the pitch as Switzerland’s players celebrated their equaliser together
The big screen at the Rostov Arena signalled Switzerland’s equaliser by displaying the word ‘GOAL’ surrounded by Swiss flags