Brazil 2024 Copa America Overview

Brazil 2024 Copa America Overview

Brazil the country that adores the beautiful and playful side of the game, but also has a never ending thirst for trophies and the glory that comes with it. Copa America 2024 is all about redemption for the Selecao. At the previous Copa America they suffered a 1-0 loss in the final to eternal rivals Argentina, which has been the beginning of a series of disappointing results for the 9 time Copa America winning country. Brazil then had a very disappointing 2022 World Cup, losing to Croatia in penalties at the quarter final stage. The ending of 2023 could not have been much worse for the legendary south american team. Three straight loses closed out the year for Brazil, and to make matters worse all time leading scorer Neymar suffered an ACL tear in September 2023, ruling him out of the 2024 Copa America tournament. Among all the recent negatives there are always countless positives though, especially when it comes to Brazil and the game they love so much. A new younger generation will be on showcase this summer which is covered with exceptional talent, and will still surely be aiming for one goal, to win the tournament.

Manager

After a long and eventually fruitless pursuit of the Godfather of the Champions league, Carlo Ancelotti the Brazilian football federation decided to give the reins to interim Fernando Diniz. Unfortunately after three defeats in a row which left Brazil sitting in sixth place in South American World Cup qualifying, they decided it was just not a good fit. With a little more than six months till the start of the 2024 Copa America Brazil decided to bring in Dorival Junior. In terms of big name bosses, Junior is not quite known on the global scale, but he is quite well experienced and respected in Brazil. He has coached 8 of the 12 best teams in Brazil, and this is going to be his 26th manager position. Recently he has been on a good run of trophies in South America. In 2022 he won the Copa Libertadores while in charge of Flamengo for a third stint. Then in 2023 he took over Sao Paolo FC who were struggling, but he miraculously guided them to their first Copa do Brasil title. The momentum from these two successes was enough for the Brazilian football federation to give him the opportunity to lead the Selecao to glory at this summer’s tournament. It has not been the most popular choice by no means but he is known to be versatile in his style. “I never arrive with a pre-conceived system,” he explained at his first Brazil press conference. “I prefer to work out what I have at my disposal and then decide on tactics.” This could be exactly the formula for success with such a talented group of players, and such a short time to get ready for such a major tournament.

Squad

Dorival Junior’s 23 player roster for the 2024 Copa America Tournament is loaded with young attacking talent that could light up any stadium. They are also backed with tough tackling defenders, and strong and confident on the ball midfielders. Between the sticks and anchoring the whole squad are two of the best and most experienced goal keepers in all of world football, Ederson and Alisson. The center back positions will be a tough decision with the three main choices being Gabriel Magalhaes of Arsenal, Eder Militao of Real Madrid and Veteran Marquinhos of Paris Saint-Germain. All three bring immense talent and should be a strong area for the team. The full back positions on the other hand are probably the opposite for the national team. Wendell of Porto is young but promising and could get the start, and Yan Couto of Manchester City had a fantastic year on loan at surprise La Liga high flyers Girona. Both are inexperienced at this level and will have a lot to prove especially in this position which typically Brazil has the highest quality of players, such as legends Carlos Alberto, Cafu, Roberto Carlos, and Marcelo. In the middle of the park Brazil are bringing a team ripe with some of the top talent from the Premier League in England. It appears quite clear that Junior will opt for a mid field three of Douglas Luiz of Aston Villa, Lucas Paqueta of West Ham, and Bruno Guimaraes. All three have had excellent seasons, Bruno Guimaraes is even subject to rumors of a possible $100 million plus transfer to high flying Arsenal. These three will look to dominate other teams with physicality but also have the quality to start and finish attacks. The attack of the famous yellow shirts is stuff of legends, and this squad has plenty of players who have the potential to one day be in that group. The starting players is really up in the air at this point except for Vinicius Jr of Real Madrid. He is the clear star of this team without question. At just 23 years old he is widely considered one of the best players in the world, and seems to be getting better and better each year. He is exceptionally quick but all the flicks and tricks in the bag, and his finishing can be as deadly as anyone. What seems to also set him apart from the rest is his clear competitive edge which some say on occasion goes too far. Vinicius Jr has all the tools to be the star of the whole tournament and could surely bring the cup home for Brazil. He is going to be supported by an array of other young attacking stars. His club teammate at Real Madrid, Rodrygo is a potential starter for the team and would bring good chemistry between him and Vinicius Jr. Another potential option is exciting 22 year old attacking player Gabriel Martinelli of Arsenal, who is also lightning quick and has an eye for goal. Evanilson of Porto is a different option as he plays as a more old fashioned big number 9. A very good year for Evanilson with 23 goals has got the big teams in Europe vying for the big Brazilian and it was enough to get himself into the National team squad. At just 17 years old Brazil have another potential global superstar in Endrick. The teenager has alreadly completed a $65 million move to Spanish giants Real Madrid which he will join in July after the tournament. Even though Endrick is so young such is the hype around him that he is expected to make his mark on the tournament, and he has already shown he can do it on the big stage by scoring against England at Wembley in March in a friendly. Rounding out the attack is more quality in Rapinha of Barcelona, and Savio of Girona. This young exciting team must have the confidence that they can win the whole tournament because the absolutely have the talent to achieve that prize.