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4 South American teams preparing for the World Cup: the best Argentine team? Super offensive Brazil?

author:The ball is expected

South America's four teams participating in the 2022 Qatar World Cup – Brazil, Argentina, Uruguay and Ecuador – are all going all out in preparation for the #World Cup. While Brazil and Argentina look like favourites to win the title, Uruguay and Ecuador are still actively preparing for the title.

Aggressive Brazil?

4 South American teams preparing for the World Cup: the best Argentine team? Super offensive Brazil?

Brazil coach Tite already has a Plan A and a Plan B, but in the first half of France's Le Havre vs Ghana he unveiled an extremely offensive Plan C, which could have worked even better than he had originally hoped.

Over the past year, his side have become accustomed to playing with two wingers – usually Rafinha on the right and Vinicius Jr. on the left, with Neymar playing as an unfixed running position for the false number nine, alongside attacking midfielder Lucas Paqueta. The change was to have Richard Leeson as a centre-forward, throw away a winger and use Paqueta to cut in from one of the wings.

What if you have a center and two wingers at the same time? Tite now has a way. This time Paqueta filled Fred's role by playing deeper from midfield. He was on Casemiro's right, Neymar on the left and there was room for three players in front of them. That means Paqueta has to make an offensive and defensive switch, but it seems like everyone is the same. Once they lose possession, Brazil collectively press to regain possession.

Ghana found it difficult to find any rhythm against Brazil, with the domineering Marcinhos using his speed and awareness to eliminate danger. Brazil won 3-0 at the end of the first half and could have scored more.

This new formation doesn't apply to all situations against their opponents, but it's an option that Brazil has added to their formation and will surely shudder their World Cup opponents.

The best Argentine team led by Messi?

4 South American teams preparing for the World Cup: the best Argentine team? Super offensive Brazil?

For its part, Argentina told their story with 34 games unbeaten and Argentina's victory in Miami was entirely predictable.

Some may remember the Argentine team in 2006, which was eliminated by a penalty from Germany in the quarter-finals, while teenage Lionel Messi sat on the bench and couldn't do anything about it.

That team revolves around Juan Romain Riquelme, the heart of the organization. The team's focus is on the midfield trio – Leandro Paredes' high-quality first pass, Rodrigo de Paulo adding drive and rhythmic changes, and Giovanni Lo Celso hitting the ball with rare precision – Messi is taken into a game closer to the opposing goal, an area on the pitch where he can do something to unravel the opposing defence.

Previously for most of the national team, Argentina was a mess. Plan A is to give the ball to Messi, Plan B is still to give the ball to Messi, and there is no Plan C. Not now. It's a possession-based team that has the potential to give Messi the final trophy in his fifth World Cup.

Will Diego Alonso's first defeat upset Uruguay?

4 South American teams preparing for the World Cup: the best Argentine team? Super offensive Brazil?

Since taking over as Uruguay's coach late last year, Diego Alonso has known only victories and a zero-goal draw with the U.S. in a friendly match in June, when he sent the reserves. After his side's 1-0 loss to Iran at Vienna on Friday, he now has a taste of defeat. As he said after the game, there was no reason to despair, but he did have room to think.

Facing a receding opponent looking to counter-attack, Uruguay's defence was good enough to have several centre-backs make their debuts – a position that gets worse when Ronald Araujo limped away after the opening minute. Sending a pair of full-backs who can push forward has a clear advantage, allowing wingers in a 4-3-3 system to enter the box. This is especially important for Darwin Núñez, whose unaccustomed left foot is a problem when he is on the wing. As a centre-forward, Núñez is undoubtedly more threatening.

Luis Suarez doesn't look like he is at his best yet, missing out on some opportunities. Uruguay ended up using a 4-4-2 formation to keep Núñez and Suarez working together, a switch that could have allowed them to lose the game (Edinson Cavani is not on the team as he settles in with his new team Valencia).

How did Ecuador score at the World Cup in Qatar?

4 South American teams preparing for the World Cup: the best Argentine team? Super offensive Brazil?

Coaches have always been happy not to concede goals, but after not conceding in three games in June, the lack of goals on the team worried Ecuador boss Gustavo Alfaro. Admittedly, his team has now gone four games without conceding a goal.

But in those four matches, Ecuador has scored just two. Alfaro might be able to get Gonzalo Plata to push from the right and Peves Estupinan to cross from the left, through aggressive pressure from midfield, from set-pieces into the box or long passes over the top of the defense to get high-quality attacking opportunities.

But the team lacks a lead on the pitch. Ecuador's all-time top scorer is veteran Ennavalencia, who may prefer to cut from the left rather than from the middle. His goals are often sudden. Alfaro has considered the option of a centre-forward position but may not be better than the burly Michael Estrada, the team's top scorer in the qualifiers, who came off the bench against Saudi Arabia but is certainly the most promising player to lead in Qatar. Only one of his six goals was scored in the first half of the qualifiers, and Ecuador needs him to get back to his best form.

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