Soccer World Cup 2022: Can Brazil live up to its role as a favorite?

On November 20, the time has come for the 2022 World Cup to begin in Qatar.

While the host nation will open the tournament and the first groups will play their matches, the Brazilian national soccer team, known as “Seleção”, will not get serious until November 24, when they play their first match against Serbia.

But will Brazil ultimately be able to live up to its role as a favorite?

REVIEW: WORLD CUP QUALIFYING SOUTH AMERICA

Brazil did not have any major problems qualifying for the World Cup.

After all, they won their first nine matches in a row before dropping two points for the first time in Colombia and also failing to score a goal.

Two more draws followed in the remaining games, but they remained without defeat—an impressive performance coupled with some spectacular attacking soccer.

The team had 45 points and an impressive six-point lead over their second-placed rivals from Argentina.

WORLD CUP PREPARATIONS IN FULL SWING

Several friendly matches have already been played this year in preparation for the World Cup, and more may follow before the tournament kicks off.

National coach Tite also relied on players who still wanted and needed to show themselves for a possible nomination and play in the foreground.

While there were clear victories against South Korea, Ghana, and, most recently, Tunisia, only the encounter against Japan was tight.

But here, too, they ended up with a 1-0 test match victory over the Japanese.

BRAZIL’S WORLD CUP SQUAD: WHO WILL COACH TITE NOMINATE?

The start of the 2022 World Cup is getting closer. Accordingly, the squad nomination is also slowly but surely getting nearer.

Other nations, such as the Netherlands, have already named a provisional squad, but this has not yet been the case for Brazil.

However, it’s a safe bet that some of the team’s star players and mainstays will be part of the World Cup squad.

Players such as goalkeepers Alisson and Ederson, key players like Marquinhos, Thiago Silva, Fabinho, and Casemiro, and even top stars Vinicius Junior and Neymar are considered sure-fire World Cup contenders.

SQUAD FORECAST: THESE 26 PLAYERS ARE IN THE WORLD CUP LINEUP

• Goalkeepers:
  Alisson (Liverpool FC)
  Ederson (Manchester City)
  Weverton (SE Palmeiras São Paulo)
• Defense:
  Thiago Silva (Chelsea FC London)
  Marquinhos (Paris Saint-Germain)
  Éder Militão (Real Madrid)
  Gabriel Magalhães (Arsenal FC London)
  Bremer (Juventus Turin)
  Emerson Royal (Tottenham Hotspur)
  Danilo (Juventus Turin)
  Renan Lodi (Nottingham Forest)
  Alex Sandro (Juventus Turin)
• Midfield:
  Casemiro (Manchester United)
  Fabinho (Liverpool FC)
  Fred (Manchester United)
  Bruno Guimarães (Newcastle United)
  Lucas Paqueta (West Ham United)
  Douglas Luiz (Aston Villa)
• Attack:
  Neymar (Paris Saint-Germain)
  Roberto Firmino (Liverpool FC)
  Richarlison (Tottenham Hotspur)
  Vinicius Junior (Real Madrid)
  Rodrygo (Real Madrid)
  Gabriel Jesus (Arsenal London FC)
  Antony (Manchester United)
  Gabriel Martinelli (Arsenal London FC)

WORLD CUP 2022: PREVIEW GROUP STAGE

In Group G, Brazil will face Cameroon, Switzerland, and Serbia.

A look at the last World Cup tournaments shows that these are not unknown opponents.

In 2014, they faced Cameroon in the group stage but won the encounter by a clear margin.

At the last World Cup in Russia, however, they shared a group with Switzerland and Serbia.

They had their problems with Switzerland in particular and only managed a draw.

This time, things should be different for the title favorites, who want to be present from the start and live up to their role as favorites in the group phase.

FORECAST: BRAZIL WILL REACH THE WORLD CUP FINAL

In recent years, the Seleção has successfully built up and formed a functioning team that plays well.

The task is to carry this over into such a prestigious tournament and build on these achievements.

The quality of the team is enormous, and the attacking soccer is difficult to defend, but at the same time, they have also shown a good ability to pull back recently.

Elements that were not always present in the Brazilian game.

Because of these developments, Brazil is the clear title favorite among experts and World Cup bookmakers, even ahead of reigning world champion France or archrivals Argentina and England.

If these qualities are brought to the pitch at the 2022 World Cup, Tite’s team will be tough to beat and will probably reach at least the World Cup final at the Lusail Iconic Stadium in Lusail City.

With information from Latina Press

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