ightroundsofSouth
America’sWorld
Cupqualifiers were
crammedin between
Septemberand
November, by which
timeBraziland Argentinaweresafely
overtheline,witha wholeyearahead
toplanfor Qatar.
Brazil’s stats–11 winsandtwo draws- areimpressive,althoughcoachTite’s
sidehavenot alwaysshownthefluency
ofthe Russia 2018 qualifiers.There are
positivesigns,though:the consolidation
Top two easily through
BrazilandArgentinaaresafelythroughtothe 2022 WorldCup,buteverybodyelseisplayingcatchupinchaoticscheduleE
ofLucasPaqueta andhispartnership
withNeymar, forexample,plusthe
emergenceofRaphinha.Mostpositive
ofall is thatthisisa teamthatvery
rarelylooks in dangerof conceding.
Argentina’sdefence,sosuspectin
recent times,isalsomuchimproved.
GoalkeeperEmilianoMartinezand
centre-backCristianRomeromade
theirdebutsasrecentlyasJune,but
itisalreadyhardtoimagine theside
withoutthem.Inthe post-September
marathonthe teamconcededjustonce- andthatwasabizarreVARpenalty.
SouthAmerica
TIMVICKERYItwas perhaps predictable,then,that
themeetingofthegiants in Argentina
endedgoalless.Brazilcouldprobably
comeawayhappierfromthegame– but
nobodycould comeawayhappyfrom
theiraborted meetinginSeptember,
whenthe matchwas interruptedafter
fiveminutesbyBrazilianhealthofficials
aimingtoexpelArgentina’sPremier
Leagueplayersfor breachingCOVID
protocols.FIFA will have to decidewhat
todowitha gamethat,happily, willhave
nobearing on thequalificationprocess.
Thefixturepileup– andstresswith