Thursday 10th November 2016 Kickoff: 2345hrs
Brazil v Argentina
Football – International – World Cup Qualifiers
One of the biggest rivalries in football takes place on Thursday evening as the South American powerhouses of Brazil and Argentina clash in Belo Horiztone. We are now past halfway in the CONMEBOL qualifying section, and these two teams come into this fixture in very different shape with Brazil sitting comfortable at the top of the group whilst Argentina are out with the top five and have work to do after a recent poor run. No matter the situation, whenever these two meet you can almost guarantee excitement and drama.
Although Brazil now sit at the top of the section and are well place to reach Russia in 2018, things looked much bleaker for them on the back of this summer’s Copa America where they were eliminated at the group stage. That signaled the end of Dunga’s regin who had also overseen an inauspicious start to this qualifying campaign. The man entrusted to take over was the vastly experienced Tite who, despite this being his first job in international football, has managed at the top level in Brazilian domestic for 25 years. Since tumbling out of the Copa America, Brazil have won their last four games and appear to be a much more dynamic and settled team. Three of their wins have came with clean sheets attached and scoring 12 goals in the process. Admittedly, they have faced the weaker teams in the section during that run but it will have given the squad some much needed confidence and allowed them to establish an arrow lead at the top, and firmly entrench themselves in one of the top four spots which brings with it automatic qualification. Friday certainly brings with it a different test but they could hardly be approaching it in better form.
The summer signaled yet another major tournament disappointment for Argentina as they lost their third final in as many years, defeated on penalties by Chile for the second successive year in the Copa America. That loss looked to bring the curtains down on Lionel Messi’s international career, amongst other including former coach Martino , who felt he could not do anymore to bring success to the long suffering fans. However, the best players in the world has had a change of heart and resumed his captaincy of the national team but it has been a difficult return for all involved. Dealing with his own injury troubles, Messi has been unable to help as much as he would have liked as Argentina have managed just one win since the summer break which came against their other arch rivals Uruguay back in September. Since that win they have accumulated just two points from their next three games and suffered a surprise defeat at home to Paraguay last time out. It’s a run that has seen them drop out of the top five but they sit just one point outside of the top four and automatic qualification.
Key to Brazil’s success is Neymar who essentially carries the weight of a nation on his shoulders and has done for some time. His goal scoring record in international football is insanely good with 49 goals in just 73 games and he has returned to his best for his country in recent times. He was pivotal to Brazil’s success in the recent Olympics and has now scored in each of his last six appearances for the national team, after going the same number of games without fining the net. What has made a difference has been the introduction of a natural and capable number nine in the shape of Gabriel Jesus who will join Manchester City in January. The emergence of another star also helps take some of the pressure off of Neymar but he still very much remains their main hope of landing more World Cup glory in less than two years time.
Argentina have to regroup ahead of tomorrow’s clash in an attempt to get their qualification campaign back on track. Even if they do lose it would not be a fatal blow to their hopes but they are in danger of being dragged into a dog fight with the likes of Chile, Colombia and Paraguay for the automatic spots, let alone fifth place and the prospect of a end of section playoff. There’s no doubting the talent and quality that exists in their squad but there remains a clear doubt about how that is put together to form a similarly capable team. The majority of their hopes continue to lie in the magic of Messi but as has been proven recently, if he’s not at this best then they inevitably struggle to win games – that has to change if they are to qualify, and achieve success at the finals themselves.
Brazil v Argentina Betting Tips
There is no standing still in football and even in the space of a few games massive shifts in momentum can be seen. Brazil are currently enjoying an excellent run and will be looking to continue that with the visit of Argentina on Thursday evening. Their visitors are at the other end of the spectrum at the moment and defeat last time out has left them much more anxious than they would expect to be at this stage of qualification. Nothing would satisfy them more, however, by ending their poor recent form with a win away to Brazil.
This is not only a clash between two of the most illustrious names in world football, but also between two of the best players in the game – who happen to be teammates. Neymar and Messi are used to winning everything with their club but success has been much harder to come by with their international teams. Nothing other than three points will be gained in this game but it could set the tone for what is ahead for both teams. Brazil are just in better shape all in at the moment and they can continue that by taking the win here and a massive step towards qualification.
Brazil 23/20 @ William Hill
