Brazil suffered a shock defeat at the hands of Cameroon in their final group game but that hasn’t stopped them from finishing top of the group with six points.
Next up, they head into the knockout stages of the World Cup where they will take on a buoyant South Korean team on Monday night. Tite’s side should have been the clear favourites to win this tie but South Korea’s triumph over Portugal and then Brazil’s loss to Cameroon have turned this Round of 16 tie on its head.
The Brazilian manager rested a host of his first-team regulars in their final group game so all of them will be properly rested and raring to go. However, injuries have been a major worry for the South American side and this could lead to reduced bench strength on Monday.
South Korea will go into this fixture as the underdogs who have nothing to lose so we expect them to frustrate their opponents and force them into making a mistake. Brazil did not look their usual self against Cameroon and hopefully, that loss hasn’t broken their rhythm.
Brazil team news and injuries:
DEFENCE:
Thiago Silva and Alisson were rested on Friday so they will be coming back into the side while Alex Sandro is also expected to recover from his injury and be available for selection.
Danilo is also recovering from an injury and the right-back should also be able to come back into the first XI.
Alex Telles picked up an injury in the Cameroon game and as per the latest reports, the full-back won’t be able to shake off the injury before Monday night.
MIDFIELD:
Fred is likely to hold onto his place in midfield while Paqueta and Casemiro come back into the starting line up for Brazil.
Fred did not have a great outing against Cameroon but he plays really well when put alongside Casemiro and we think Tite will not want to break this partnership.
Now, Paqueta started the first two games for Brazil but if Neymar is back to full fitness then the PSG man could be the one playing in the No 10 role. Rumours are suggesting that the playmaker will be fit in time and since Tite rested Vinicius on Friday, the manager is likely planning to use Neymar as the attacking midfielder.
ATTACK:
As we said, Vinicius Junior is expected to operate on the left flank because he’s done great for Real Madrid in the previous year and the Brazilian manager will not want to keep a talent like him on the bench.
Antony was underwhelming against Cameroon so he will make way for Raphinha on the right flank.
Richarlison will also come back into the side, replacing Gabriel Jesus who is now ruled out for Monday’s game. Fabrizio Romano and others have confirmed that Jesus’ World Cup journey is over due to a knee injury and he is expected to be out for around one month.
Brazil predicted line up vs South Korea:
Predicted Starting XI(4-2-3-1): Alisson; Silva, Marquinhos, Danilo, Sandro; Casemiro, Fred; Neymar/Paqueta, Vinicius Jr, Raphinha; Richarlison.
